#I personally really like Pearl’s portal? i think it’s fun and colorful

[desertduo-but-everywhere]

[mushroom-creacher]

Wayward Dads Chapter 2: Get Figgy With It

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Erin said the closest town was only a few hours on foot and they should arrive before sunset if everything goes well. Walter made sure everyone ate breakfast before they left and cooked extra to eat for lunch. Most of the kids felt too anxious to eat but quickly scarfed the food down anyway. The sooner they finished; the sooner they could go find Erin’s friend.

The walk was mainly quiet. Occasionally, Lark or Sparrow would pick up an interesting stick or rock, or Paeden would tell an outlandish story to fill the silence; otherwise, no one felt like talking.

They stopped a few times to rest and eat lunch before reaching the vibrant town at the edge of the forest. The kids seemed to let out a collective sigh of relief, and an ounce of the tension and agitation fell away. They were one step closer to getting their dads back. It helped that the town was decorated with colorful banners and streamers for some kind of festival. Maybe they could check it out once this is all over.

Erin led them past the townspeople setting up the games and market stands and decorations to a quaint inn that overlooked the celebrations. It took all of Sparrow and Lark’s willpower not to sneak away and explore the fairgrounds without adult supervision, they had to focus on the mission right now. Besides, it will be more fun once their father is there to chase after them.

“Ms. O'Neil, I thought we were going to find your friend? Are they here?” Terry Jr asked as Erin paid for a single room.

“No, but I need somewhere private to contact her.” They made their way to the small room at the back of the inn. Erin ushered everyone in before locking the door behind her.

Paeden immediately jumped onto the small bed in the middle of the room. “Dibs!”

“Hey, no fair! I didn’t know the bed was up for dibs!” Nick huffed, annoyed that he didn’t think of that first.

“You snooze, you lose, Nicky boy!”

“We won’t be staying that long anyway so it doesn’t really matter,” Erin stated as she dug through her satchel. She was able to stick her whole arm in before yanking it out with a loud “Aha!”

She pulled a bright, iridescent pearl out of her bag and held it up between two fingers. It reflected the light from the window like a prism and cast rainbows across the room. The kids couldn’t help but look around at the brilliant colors. Paeden looked like he’d never seen something so beautiful. Grant’s eyes went wide with something that, for the first time in a while, wasn’t panic or apathy, as he stared in awe with the other kids.

Walter and Erin smiled at the kids; they deserved a moment of wonder in this whole mess.

“This is a summoning pearl. They must be made by the person you want to summon. My friend gave me this a while back if I ever needed to find her quickly.”

“So how do we use it?” Nick asked.

“It’s pretty easy, watch.” Erin popped the small pearl into her mouth and bit down with a loud crunch.

The group of kids gasped as the colors on the walls started to fade.

After a few seconds, a swirling iridescent portal appeared in the center of the room. A loud thundering sound came from the center as what seemed like lightning bolts cracked along the edges. The kids jumped back to avoid an accidental shock.

Erin stepped in front of the portal with her hands on her hips. “Come on out, old lady. We don’t have time for dramatics.”

The mock lightning storm faded away as a tall old woman with greying hair and a twisted walking stick stepped out of the portal. She wore light druid’s armor and had a large satchel slung over her shoulder.

“Do you always have to ruin my fun, O’Neil?”

“Kinda in a hurry, Figgs.”

“Yeah, yeah, calling in the favor I owe ya and all that.” The stranger swatted the air like she was shooing away Erin’s words as the portal closed behind her.

“Guys, this is my friend, Figgs Pennywhistle, I was her apprentice when I was younger.”

Figgs looked around as she realized there were other people in the room with them. “Holy shit! You built up quite the little O’Neil troop while I was gone!”

“Oh, they aren’t mine! I’m... babysitting.”

“You better not be askin’ me to watch them for you, you know I’m not good with kids and-”

“No, that’s not why I called you here. It’s about their dads.”

“They are missing,” Lark spoke up, garnering a raised eyebrow from Figgs. “Erin says you can find them.”

“I might be able to. What happened to ‘em?”

“We’re on the run from some bad people. We got caught and they couldn’t get away.” Erin stated, very matter-of-factly.

 Figgs let out a barking laugh. “Oh, you’ve not changed one bit! Still the same little troublemaker I trained.”

“So, you will help us find them then?” Nick asked.

“Of course, I’m gonna help. I owe O’Neil and I intend to make good on that favor. I will need some time to set up though.”

“Whatever you need.” Erin smiled slightly at her old friend.

“Right now, I just need space!” Figgs threw her satchel onto the bed and started pushing it to the corner of the room. The others shared a look before helping her push the small amount of furniture to the walls of the room.

 “That should be enough space.”

“For what?” Paeden asked, he refused to move from the bed so no one else could take it.

“For these!” Figgs grabbed her bag and promptly turned it over and dumped all its contents onto the empty space on the floor. What fell out of the bag would’ve seemed impossible to the kids before their adventures into the Forgotten Realms. A cauldron large enough to fit a person, what had to be 50 bottles of strange liquids ranging in size, bundles of dried herbs and plants, and a live snake.

“Oh, that’s where you went, Noodles! I thought you ran off again.” Figgs calmly picked up the snake as it wrapped itself around her arm.

“Woah, you have a pet snake! That’s so cool!” Nick stepped over the mess to get a closer look.

“Can I hold it?” Sparrow shouted.

“No, he bites.” Figgs turned the cauldron upright and a fire appeared under it, somehow not leaving a single mark on the floorboards. The kids gathered around as the older woman threw bottles and herbs into the cauldron while speaking in a language that felt oddly familiar to the Oaks.

“What are you speaking?” Lark asked as he peered into the bubbling liquid.

“It’s druidic. I’m a Druid so that’s the language I cast in.”

“Can you teach us?” Figgs nearly jumped as Sparrow appeared next to her.

“It takes a long time to learn, you should apprentice under a druid if you really wanna get good at it.”

“Our father is a druid.”

“All the more reason to get him back then.” She stepped back from the cauldron and looked around at the small group in front of her. “Ok, now I need one last thing for this to work. I need a part of something important to the people I’m tryna find. Kids are usually important to parents, right?”

“Yeah, Figgs, parents typically care about their children,” Erin sighed.

 “Great! Hawk some spit in or some hair or something, it just has to be a part of you.”

Before anyone could say anything, two voices shouted in unison, “Blood Pact! Blood Pact!”

Lark and Sparrow were practically jumping up and down in excitement, Lark clutching a small knife.

“Where did you get a knife?!” Walter lunged to grab the knife away from the child, but Lark was quick to toss the knife to Sparrow before Walter could get a grip on it.

“Unimportant! What is important, dear caretaker, is how our bond will strengthen with this blood pact! We will be a closer and more powerful team!”

“Blood works too. Just gotta do it quickly, before this potion dries up.”

“Do we have to do blood?” Terry Jr shifted uncomfortably, rubbing his palm with his thumb.

The twins walked over to Terry Jr, and both put a hand on each of his shoulders.

“Terry Junior Stampler. We have been through a lot together. We have fought and bled together. We are already brothers in battle and adventure. It would do me great honor to be brothers in blood as well.” Lark had that semi-serious look on his face that he normally got when he was being theatrical.

“But only if you feel comfortable! Your feelings are just as valid as ours!” Sparrow said gently with almost the exact opposite expression as his brother. It was still a little jarring for Terry Jr to see them so distinct and different, it used to be impossible to tell them apart at soccer practice.

Figgs cleared her throat and made a gesture that clearly meant ‘hurry up.’

Terry Jr sighed. “Ok, yeah, I’ll do it. Blood is cooler than spit anyways.”

The twins cheered and went back to chanting, “Blood Pact! Blood Pact! Blood Pact!”

“On one condition,” Terry Jr. interrupted, “Erin is the one doing the cutting. No offense but I don’t feel very comfortable with either of you holding a knife to me.”

“Fiiiiiine,” Lark complained.

“Of course, whatever makes everyone feel comfortable during this very important bonding experience.” Sparrow calmly handed the knife over to Erin.

“Can I be a part of the blood pact?” Paeden asked.

“Are you important to the people we’re looking for?” Figgs started stirring the potion to keep it moving.

Paeden chuckled at her question, “Honey, I’m important to everyone.”

“Then you’re welcome to throw some blood in here.”

“Yes!”

“Are you all sure you want to do blood? The cut will hurt.” Erin held the knife up almost like she was trying to emphasize that this was a real knife that would leave a real cut.

“Oh, just let ‘em have fun, O’Neil. Kids need a little blood pact here and there.”

 “Pleeeeaaaaseeee” The twins pleaded, attempting their never-failing puppy dog eyes.

Erin sighed, “Fine, fine, we’ll do blood.”

The kids gathered around the cauldron and held their hands out.

“Oh no no no, none of that palm-cutting bullshit. Do you know how many pain receptors and blood vessels are in there? I’m not getting chewed out by your dads for that. I would never hear the end of it. Give me your arms.”

The kids held their arms over the cauldron as Erin went around, quickly placing a small cut on the fleshy part of the back of the forearm of each kid. Lark and Sparrow barely flinched, they were used to plenty of scrapes and cuts by now. Grant winced but kept a neutral face, the same brief glint in his eyes as when he’s in the middle of a fight. Terry Jr couldn’t even look at the knife and let out a sharp hiss when Erin cut. Paeden was too distracted by the story he was telling Walter to notice when Erin cut his arm. Nick put on a brave face and Erin pretended not to notice how scared he was and the quiet whimper when she cut.

The six kids let the blood drip into the cauldron. The potion turned a brilliant red with purple swirls.

“Now state the pact you are forging in blood and the consequences of breaking said pact.” Figgs pointed the spoon they were stirring with at the group in front of her.

“Did we have an actual pact to make?” Grant asked.

“Of course! We swear to always be friends and a team!” Sparrow spoke up.

“Yeah, I swear!” Lark agreed.

“Is that sworn by everyone?”

“Yeah, I’ll swear to that.” Nick looked at the other kids around him.

“Well, I had planned on going solo at one point, but I’ll stick with you all if you insist. I swear.” Paeden stated with his usual air of clumsy confidence.

“I’ll swear too. I like having you guys as friends.” Terry Jr smiled slightly, still trying to ignore the bleeding cut on his arm.

“Sure, I swear.” For a short moment, something broke through Grant’s apathy. A sense of friendship and belonging with these other kids. He liked that feeling.

“And the consequence of breaking this pact?”

“We’ll never break the pact! Nothing could make me betray my team!” Lark shouted, triumphantly, like he was declaring victory.

“Everyone thinks that until the pact is broken. Either way, you gotta decide a consequence.”

There was a moment of tense silence between the group.

“What if,” Terry Jr spoke timidly, trying to maneuver around the tension. “What if we just chose a reminder? If we break the pact, we will always be reminded that the pact is broken.”

The others murmured their agreements. That was probably the safest option when it came to blood pacts.

“And so it shall be!” Figgs shouted.

A faint glow of magic washed over the kids’ cuts. They could feel that this pact was sealed and set for all of time. They all shared a knowing look. They had bound themselves to each other and they were fine with that. They were more than friends. They were family.

“Great! Now that that’s over with, I gotta get back to this potion.” Figgs clapped her hands together and started chanting in druidic over the cauldron. The kids all backed away to let Figgs finish the spell.

Walter went around the room and bandaged everyone’s arms, much to the appreciation of Terry Jr and Nick.

The kids started to relax as they waited. This was it; the spell was almost done, and they would get their dads back and made a nice little blood pact along the way. They shared stories and laughed about the few times they’d hung out at soccer. Almost an hour and a half passed before Figgs spoke from the cauldron.

“Uh, are you sure you guys are lookin for adults?”

“Yeah, last we checked; they were grown adults. Why do you ask?” Erin raised an eyebrow at Figgs, wondering if they were pulling some kind of joke.

“Well, I’m looking at the spell and all I’m seein’ is more kids.”

“What?” Everyone rushed around the cauldron to see what Figgs was talking about.

As they peered into the boiling liquid, the colors swirled around to show four different images. Four young boys, around the kids’ ages.

Sparrow and Lark immediately recognized the kid with the blonde hair and their same face and eyes, being lectured by the condescending man they recognized as their grandfather.

Grant focused on the boy who looked nearly identical to him, next to a campfire, talking to a man he’d only ever seen in old photo albums.

Nick stared at the younger version of his dad; he’d always known he looked more like his mom but now the differences were magnified. The boy was alone in a field, smoking what can be assumed to be some kind of drug, lazily playing guitar.

Terry Jr had never seen any pictures of Ron as a kid, but he knew instantly that the scrawny kid with mousy brown hair and glasses too big for him was his stepdad and that the man impatiently dragging him along the road was Willy.

Erin looked up from the cauldron’s images. This wasn’t a quick find-and-grab mission anymore. The dads were kids and the Omega Daddies had them. She made eye contact with every one of the kids. They were scared and worried and confused. They all looked to her for guidance and reassurance. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth to speak.

“Fuck.”

[non-operator]

[source: https://www.oneesports.gg/valorant/easter-eggs-pearl-map-valorant/]

I couldn't find another picture that showed the whole timeline in one go lol

this video is also the one that brought it to my attention and shows the mural close-up with explanations. he also mentions some other cool lore bits, i'd recommend checking it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gNKj4m1z64&t=366s

Anyways, this is just what I think is happening in the timeline:

Kingdom Industries is formed? Or rises to prominence? (if it's the latter, it's interesting that omega Kingdom managed to do so before the discovery of radianite). This one shows a three buildings, two short ones on the side and one very tall in the middle. The middle building bears the Kingdom Industries logo.

Climate change. The signs either begin to appear, or worsen. There's a sun symbol shown above a melting planet.

First Light? I actually don't know. It shows a single large lightning bolt hitting the planet. The planet is colored half white, half blank/black, and it has some kind of halo at the top. This might be a bit of a stretch, but perhaps this could also symbolize Neon's arrival/birth? I'm not sure about the canon status of the interview with Neon's VA, but she did say that Neon arrived 10 years before the First Light/20 years before the events of Valorant. And Neon seems to be acting as a battery for the portal, at least on Alpha's side, so maybe omega Neon had a greater role in traversing the multiverse in omega Earth?

First Light 2: electric boogaloo? Radiants are discovered? I have no clue. The mural shows some kind of sun/star/bright light cupped in two hands

Radianite discovered? Or industrialized? It's just a block of radianite, presumably unprocessed.

Radianite takes on a more significant role in the provision of energy. There's the radianite symbol on a battery; I'm assuming it's implying that radianite is powering the battery.

Valorant Legion is formed. This one just shows the Valorant logo.

Alpha Earth is discovered? Or maybe another Earth, but not Alpha, since it is called the multiverse and not mirrorverse? It shows two earths overlapped (one earth is all white, and the other has white oceans and black continents). A line goes through the middle, through the overlap of the two earths.

This is presumably when Kingdom begins expeditions/exploration efforts of the multiverse. A person in a weird hazmat suit stands in the middle of portal.

Force Atlas is formed? Joint cooperation between Force Atlas and Kingdom Industries begin? The Force Atlas logo is on top of a planet symbol. I'm still not sure if Force Atlas originates from Kingdom, or if it existed as its own organization before Kingdom Industries and just decided to team up. The video suggests that it's Force Atlas heading the exploration, but I don't really see great evidence of that? I think it's Kingdom that began the portal stuff, but then Force Atlas coming into the picture allowed them either the support or manpower needed to make it a bigger and public project.

Multiverse exploration made public? This mural looks like one of the posters in the museum. The poster reads "Para além do Ómega: Nós tornamos possível". It roughly translates to "Beyond the Omega: we make it possible". It looks like a propaganda/recruitment poster.

The climate crisis worsens to extremes, and geo-domes are set up over cities? It looks like a city within a bubble, and waves fill up the bottom half of the bubble. Kingdom Industries' logo is below the waves.

Radianite shortage begins? It shows a radianite symbol; there's an exclamation mark over it, and below it, the colors of the radianite symbol continue down but show signs of disintegration. Another guess would be that the side effects of reality instability are becoming worse, so people are worrying about it?

Valorant Legion goes public. This just shows "The Valorant Legion" in a fun comic book font lol

Kingdom Industries?? again??? This also just shows the Kingdom Industries Logo, but this time, it's not on some buildings and next to the logo is "IND" Maybe Kingdom Industries did some rebranding?

[missvifdor]

(The continuation of this post where during a spell class a portal opened and the boys' female doubles as well as MC's appeared in the class) (I think I could make it an independent "story" for the adventures of my MC /OC /YUU)

My MC /OC /YUU and his double crossing the gaze in the class: * Double bi panic *

*Now we will have to find a solution to bring these young ladies and this gentleman back to their reality, but in the meantime here is the look of our twisted guys if they were girls*

Dorm leaders:

Riddle: Looks both serious and cute, with a round cheeky face and big eyes with long thick lashes as well as a pretty pixie haircut. Obviously she stays small but is always bigger than my MC OC YUU, her voice both soft and sharp, a very interesting contrast.

Leona: Made more of a woman than a young girl, still has magnificent hair, bewitching eyes and has a very toned and nicely muscular body. His voice is deep with that tone both seductive and bored. She knows perfectly well that she is beautiful, that she has charm and adores the handset with her immense intelligence. It's an absolutely formidable combo. She is the same height as her male double.

Azul: Gives that mafia-like aura (Or Sugar Mummy), with her hair styled in an impeccable bun and her tailor that is both professional and flatters her gorgeous figure perfectly. Her smile is both sweet and dangerous. But we all know that deep down she is a sweet girl who needs reassurance and who needs to realize how smart, hardworking, and beautiful she is (and we know any of us don't would stop proving it to her). She must be two or three centimeters shorter than her male double.

Kalim: She's still a sun ball and a full cinnamon roll! So positive and supportive! Tie up her long silver hair with a cute headband and always do her makeup in warm tones (where instead Jamil helps her with her makeup like that). Always wears tons of gold bracelets on her wrists and ankles, is very tactile, and has no problem cuddling the people she loves and appreciates! Is the kind of friend who makes sure you eat well and that you don't miss anything. (I can see her thinking that she and Jamil have more of a sister relationship than a master and servant relationship). Is exactly the same size as her male double.

Vil: Let's be honest here, Vil would be the most gorgeous woman who hasn't set foot at Night Raven College for decades after The Beautiful Queen! You almost feel like she's straight out of a fashion magazine but no, it's just that our Reine des Poisons takes so much care of her and works so hard to come to such potential! Her magnificent hair would reach her shoulders, her voice would be as beautiful as honey on a slice of bread and her makeup and manicure would be as perfect as it gets! Maybe she would be a little taller than her male double (even without heels). (I don't know why but apart from her care and makeup, I also see her very well making her own jewelry as well as her perfume).

Idia: Haired with two long, fiery quilts, she would be more the type to have an e-girl style but with very loose clothes that would not show her forms (the poor one does not realize that she has the potential to become a model for lingerie). Her voice would be both sweet and high-pitched, and she could also be smaller than her male double. (And Husbando, so many Husbando!). Doesn't trust her smile because of her sharp teeth but that is her charm and she is so fucking cute! Maybe she would be more organized and manic than her double even if her room would still be in a very big mess (at least she didn't leave her underwear lying around in plain sight, she would die of shame if anyone saw the cute and childish little designs on it).

Malleus: This woman ... Would be exactly the same size as her male double! And she would be so beautiful and elegant! With long black hair that she would let hang down her back, as well as her incredible figure! (Also gives those Magical Sugar Mummy vibes). His voice, by all the gods ... The most sensual and that playful note we've ever heard. Her voice is also so deep and sweet (let's not even talk about her laugh or I'll die of happiness). Still gives that awesome and intimidating impression on people but is so sweet when you get to know her (Always make that adorable pout when she's sad or upset, you feel like hugging her tight and telling her that even though she is scary in the early days, she's the sweetest person we've ever met!).

The Vice-leader:

Trey: Don't lie to each other, give these married vibes over and over again. But beware, also hides his game very well because in private ... 🥵. Her beautiful hair tied in a ponytail and her voice in playful tones. Would be the type to wear stockings with his uniform and is the same size as his male double. Smells like cake and vanilla, it's both so nice and it also makes you so hungry!

Ruggie: Is quite skinny because as we know Ruggie often endures difficult months. Short and messy hair, has a cheerful voice and an infectious laugh (Quite fond of pretty things in the background, but since she doesn't have much money, she can't really afford it. If she could, she would certainly treat herself to some pretty hair accessories). Perhaps an unacknowledged Tsundere side. Since she cannot feed herself properly for someone her age, she is most certainly smaller than the average for a Beast Woman. Would probably like to have a cuter look, unfortunately she can't afford it as she doesn't want to look "weak".

Jade: Holy shit, this woman is so dangerous and sweetly sadistic, if you ever pique her interest and she likes you on top of that, I'm sorry for you. Her body is certainly muscular and graceful (She also has quite incredible strength). Has long, wavy hair that she wears half-loose and is exactly the same height as her male double. Her voice and at the same time so soft and cold, you don't know if you should feel comfortable or on the contrary, run as far as possible. Obviously loves going for long hikes, (Her legs are so muscular, if she catches you with that, you won't be able to go anywhere). His tone is so teasing, you can't resist him for long.

Jamil: Very tall, even a few inches taller than her male double. Just like Trey, she smells so good, like cinnamon. Has a fairly athletic build, and remained a very, very good dancer. Very skillful, maybe makes her own wrist and ankle bracelets, also wears a lot of jewelry (not as expensive as Kalim's, but still very pretty and it shows her really well, especially the snake designs ), also wears a lot of ear piercings. His hair is very long, silky, and worn the same way as the male Jamil (maybe with extra pearls in his hair). Her voice is deep (sensual) and with a note of irony and sarcasm. Her make up apply lightly but always in such beautiful warm tones (she also highlights her cheekbones), especially with eyeliner to highlight her intense gaze.

Rook: His hair is worn in the same way as the male Rook, also wears a multitude of hats as well as pretty earrings. Likes to tease those around her, smiling and bright. Has a French accent, of course. But remains someone dangerous in the end. Is the same height as her double, is athletic, skillful and has excellent eyesight (Normal for a hunter). See beauty in everything and everyone! Don't you think you're handsome? Rook will give you ten points for why she thinks you are beautiful and why you should stop thinking that way because otherwise she will stalk you until you accept this truth. Her voice is happy and confident, deep and warm. May like to wear accessories like long socks with natural or animal designs. Specialized in throwing knives.

Ortho: So cute! The little sister you will want to protect at the risk of your life! So smart and friendly, curious too. Wears a cute fiery pixie hairstyle and has a cheerful, thin voice. Is so small and skinny.

Lilia: Oh boy ... see Draculaura from Monster Hight? She has the same look. So much into jokes, loves to surprise people to scare them. Her voice contrasts completely with her appearance since it is deep and velvety. Same size as her male double. Even though she looks so young, she still acts like a child mom. (Obviously, is always so bad in the kitchen, she brings out stuff, sometimes you are afraid that it will come to life to devour you). Despite her jokes, she is still very good advice and listens.

The rest of our boys:

Cater: If fashionable, is certainly a great influencer. Cater pays so much attention to everything, especially the little details and accessories that she wear. Makeup always on top and colorful, could become a model if she wanted. Is smaller than her male double. Joyful and higher pitched voice, her hair is a bundle of silky curls always worn in a cute way (Like Ariana Grande). (Has a multitude of fans and contenders) carefree and likes to give cute or silly nicknames to people she loves and appreciates. Would be the type to flirt with his friends for fun. Probably has a passion for nail art and would be so proud to show off her designs on her Magicam account! Would act with the first years like a big sister although she is not always good advice. She is so teasing.

Ace: Short, messy hair! Pretty tomboy style, enjoys teasing others too much for his own good, always smiling like shit and communicative. Is a sporty person, and quite arrogant, maybe also a little Tsundere side. Is a hopeless hideaway romantic. Even though she likes to do her makeup, she doesn't like taking fifteen years to do it and does the minimum required. Of course has a more feminine side when she's out of school, but honestly, feminine clothes are never practical for big movements. Act confidently but not too deep down. Her voice is happy and dynamic. Is one or two centimeters smaller than her male double. Likes to wear necklaces and chokers. Rather skinny but not as much as Ruggie.

Deuce: So sweet and so want to do her best to make her mom proud of her. Wearing long hair tied in a low ponytail, her voice is high-pitched and strong. Is quite tall (even taller than her male double). Read romance books on the sly but can't help herself when someone finds out. Probably already dyed his hair blonde during his delinquent period and dyed it before entering Night Raven College. Likes to wear barrettes in her hair, also does her best with her makeup but was not used to it before (it was mainly Ace who taught her everything she knows). Secretly loves wearing skirts and dresses, she hasn't been able to experience it before because she didn't think it would look pretty on her (But she's actually pretty). Certainly be shy and insecure when she finds new people, afraid of doing things badly. Blushes so easily that it is funny. When his delinquent side resurfaces, his voice becomes more serious, threatening, his posture leaves no room for shyness! She might want to change for the better, but that doesn't mean she's going to let others do if they want to bully her!

Jack: Do you see Jasper in the Steven Universe? You now have Jack as a woman. She is muscular and strong! The part she's most proud of is her muscular back! His silvery hair his savage and remained indomitable (But that gives him a crazy charm). Don't take shit from people and still is a Tsundere. But her wagging tail always betrayed her about her emotions, as well as her ears. Same size as her male double. Secretly loves cute things and certainly has an army of adorable stuffed animals in her room in Savanaclaw. Wears a biker style, and because she lives in a cold region with her family, she doesn't get cold easily, so her muscular arms are uncovered all the time (for your viewing pleasure 😏). Her voice is serious, so serious! But if you're friends, you definitely hear that thoughtful little note in her voice. If his male version is the Best Boy, his female version is the Best Girl! She takes care of those she loves and is always ready to help!

Floyd: Is exactly the same size as his male double. Wear her hair short cut in a boyish style (she doesn't have the time or the energy to dwell on her hair). Her voice has high notes, especially when she finds something or someone cute! Very expressive, has no filter. Like her sister, she is muscular and graceful. Her dress style could be similar to those of men in the 40's (she much prefers masculine clothes because it is more comfortable and she doesn't have to worry about her chest with large shirts. does not have to wear a bra!). Love accessories like earrings or piercings. Has immense strength and doesn't always control it. Dislikes makeup, she doesn't want to bother with it (but finds it charming on others, that's just her personal opinion). If its male version is not to be upset, it also works with its female version! Especially when it is at this time of the month, run away poor fools!

Epel: The same problem as with its male version! Except that instead of being manly, she wants us to find her sexy and not cute! All her life in her hometown has not to stop telling her that she was cute! Really ? Was she nothing else ?! She wants people she finds attractive to find her sexy, not cute! Just because she is petite, because she has big, innocent eyes and a round, youthful face, doesn't mean it's her definition of beauty or femininity! Much like her appearance, her voice is cute, slender. Her hair is long, wavy and held up with a red ribbon in an elegant manner. Compare to her male version, Vil lets her speak with her accent because it is one of her charm assets. Her face is decorated with delicate freckles. Is quite skinny with a tiny bit of shape but not a lot (let's say she has a lot more than Riddle). Epel is a little smaller than the male Epel, but not much.

Silver: She is the equivalent of Disney Princess Aurora. Except that, unlike, even if she falls asleep anywhere, she doesn't need a knight to protect her, she is her own knight! Remain a formidable swordsman! In spite of everything, remains someone calm and taciturn, very easygoing. She is very fond of animals and as they naturally flock to her, she is very happy about this fact. Wear her hair up to the shoulders and tie it in a ponytail for practice. She has a fairly toned body, but not too much. Her voice is soft and measured. She is much smaller than her male double.

Sebek: Acts hard but is so soft in the end. Looks pissed off all the time but that's just her natural expression. Wears her hair like her male version, and is the same size. Her voice carries so far, it's very impressive the first time you hear her! It is a bit sharp, but not in an unpleasant way. Carries so much esteem and respect towards Malleus, she would also like so much to be like her but she would never dare to compare herself to her! Blushes so hard and so quickly if you press the right buttons, it's so funny to see her get annoyed! Her figure is quite toned and sporty.

And finally, My MC /OC /YUU: Just like his female version, he wears round glasses, is always 150cm tall and has long wavy hair. Has fairly broad shoulders and is slightly muscular without really being so. Does everything possible to make girls feel comfortable and safe in his presence! He knows how exhausting the life and daily life of women is because of societal pressures and the male gaze. He knows that because of assholes, women are afraid of men and are afraid to even be in the same room as them, so he will do his best to ensure that she never feels that way around him! And if someone has the audacity to make one of them feel these feelings, oh boy ... that person won't last long! He was raised by his mother alone, and she taught him respect, consent and righteous values. He is an ally, so rest assured 😊😉. His voice is soft and serious (Also watching him get angry and argued in French is quite impressive! The sound of Rs in his mouth sounds even more aggressive).

[cityandking]

stillness, formal, favorite, & alternate for dai and vesper!

thanks tabby!! // oc asks: character design edition

stillness: How does your OC act while still? Are they fidgety? Do they have any common gestures or tics? Does their clothing affect how they hold themselves while at rest?

DAI — answered!

VESPER — she doesn't move around too much, but she will futz with her clothes since they're in easy reach. usually she tries to mask her fidgeting by having something to hold onto that isn't her sleeves or ties or anything else. she wears pretty loose and comfortable clothing so it doesn't affect her posture too much, but sometimes when she's dressed as The Inquisitor she'll keep checking herself when the weight of fall of the uniform pulls weirdly. those are some seriously starched collars.

formal: What's your OC's formal look? Do they like dressing up? Do they have different looks for different occasions?

DAI — back home he had a set of formal clerical robes, better fabric and gold accents (he maybe also has a formal garrison uniform? not sure). he, of course, didn't bring anything formal with him when he ended up stumbling through a portal into the void and the wider world of the universe, so mostly he's been going without. he got a set of fancy robes on the not-Feywild planet, which consists of a crossed-collar upper section and skirt with the front panels cut out mimicking the silhouette of a tux. there's art! he does like dressing up a little I think—it's fun to dress fancy!—but he doesn't much care for the social obligation and pressure of formal events, so it's a mixed bag. he also doesn't really trust anyone in the party to do his makeup (except dobin) but I think he'd be pleasantly bemused if he had the proper chance to have his makeup done.

VESPER — in the Circle she had a set of formal robes for important occasions (harrowings, important visitors) but they were uncomfortable and she hated wearing them. in the Inquisition she has a much better made formal Inquisition uniform (like the Halamshiral look, but not that boring). she also has a formal dress to two with Marcher influences in the design as a nod to her family connection. lots of really light layers of fabric to make her look like she's floating—the Inquisitor, walking half a step above everyone else. she doesn't mind dressing nice, as long as she can wear sensible footwear and it isn't too constricting. she also does cool stuff with her hair when she's in formal situations—braids in pearls and that sort of thing. she's familiar with the bustle of preparing for a formal event and sometimes it nearly makes her nostalgic, even if she went to her last ball as a Trevelyan when she was 10 or so.

favorite: Does your OC have a favorite article of clothing or accessory? What is it? What's the meaning behind it? Do they wear it all the time or do they wear it sparingly to keep it safe?

DAI — answered!

VESPER — she has a necklace she doesn't take off that has a family ring her brother Kit sent her. when Cullen gives her the coin, she strings it on there too. reminders of her favorite boys (when Dorian hears this he's torn between being insulted he's not included and disgusted by the sentimentality)

alternate: What would your OC's alternate universe look be? If they're a fantasy character, what's their modern look? If they're sci-fi, what's their fantasy look? What AU would you want to see your OC in, and how would they dress themself? Bonus: Prompt an AU!

DAI — lots of sweaters. jeans, glasses, always with a backpack or a bag. I personally would really love to see him in a post-apocalyptic au but turns out that's what he's currently dealing with in the game whoops.

VESPER — honestly modern au vesper would dress about the same as canon vesper. lots of loose button-up blouses, long skirts, warm colors. more floral prints and knit sweaters I think. long coats and short-heeled boots. classics professor chic. she still keeps her hair braided for the most part

[captainillogical]

Home Ch.3

The domesticity of living with an alien who hasn’t quite had the chance at a normal life.

Distant Lands sequel.

Spinel/Reader

collab with my lovely wife @firstofficertightpants​

Chapter Rating: Explicit

A/N: I’m sorry about the previous version guys, wasn’t my intention to write it that way, and thanks for all the feedback. Changed some things, added another thousand or so words, and re-wrote some dialogue. Thank you Star for all your help p:

This chapter is NSFW. I’m pretty sure one of the people that sent me shit was a minor, so I’d like to say this again, ya’ll. No minors.

-

"Why do 'ya seem a little out of breath? You run up the stairs?" Your girlfriend asks, raising an eyebrow.

"No reason," You lie, she doesn't need to know of whatever that was. It was probably nothing, anyway. You're just paranoid. "Met another human that lives a few floors down from us though."

"Another human lives here? Huh," She answers, interested. She's got half your boxes open, and has already stacked most of the books inside your bookcase in the living room. It's.. it's stacked like a fire hazard. You don't know what you were expecting. "Bismuth did say that more humans were starting to live in this area. Was he nice?"

"Yeah, he did ask me a lot of questions about you though."

She gives you a particular look. "Why'd he ask about me.."

"I might've mentioned I was living with my girlfriend." You say sheepishly.

"Aw jeez," She groans, wiping her face a bit dramatically with her gloved hand. 

"Am I supposed to keep quiet about it?"

"No! No. I just haven't had the chance to tell any of our neighbors about it yet." She replies guiltily. She pushes a twintail over her shoulder, getting it out of the way as she digs into an open box.

"Spinel!" You hiss out.

"What! I've been busy!" She wails. "And also, two of the quartzes on this floor are such huge gossips that I've maybe avoided the conversation with them! They've pried SO much already about my past and it's kinda 'irritatin. I know once they figure out that you're livin' with me, they're gonna bombard me with even more questions."

"Ugh, okay, you get a pass today."

"Today," She repeats, deadpan. "I should get a pass whenever."

"Nah, you're not special enough." You chuckle, grabbing some of your books to restack them into something actually resembling a bookcase.

"I am to you," She pouts a little, which is really endearing. 

"Ehhhhhhh," You start, sarcastically, until you feel a pinch on your ass and you cut off mid sentence to yelp. You whip your head around to glare at your girlfriend. "Spinel!"

"Deserved it." She grins, peering at you from the side. You contemplate throwing a book at her, but your stomach rumbles instead.

"Can you finish opening all of these boxes? I'm gonna make myself some food real quick," You say, finishing restacking that one shelf and walking into the kitchen. "I wanna be completely unpacked tonight if possible. I hate moving for this reason."

You hear her make an offended noise from the living room. "Was how I stacked these not good enough for you?!"

"I hate to break this to you, but like," You pause to open your fridge, rifling through what you bought earlier. "Pretty sure they were one bump away from being all over the floor."

"Looked fine to me."

"Have you ever had to organize anything, ever?" You take the ingredients out to make a sandwich, plopping the contents on the counter.

"..I think I'm more of the fun type, personally." She answers, and you hear her toss an empty box off to the side. You feel your phone buzz in your pocket, and opt to ignore it for a little bit while you feed yourself.

"Yeah? You think so?" You snicker, adding an extra slice of cheese to your ham sandwich. "I thought you were more of the 'village idiot' type."

She sputters, and you walk out of the kitchen with your sandwich in hand to see her glaring at you non-threateningly. "That's more of a you type."

"No way! You don't even have any proof." You take a bite out of your food in hand, watching her pull out some of your cute plushies that Steven has gifted you over the years. Sandwich is a bit dry.. shoulda put on more mayo. Oh well.

"Are 'ya fuckin' kidding me?" She stares at you, deadpan. Her left eye is twitching. "Why don't we revisit everything that happened on Golgotha? Hmmmmm?" 

"Okay that's not completely fair," You take another bite, and chew it thoughtfully. "It's not like I asked for that to happen to me. It was all self preservation. Besides, it's not like you made it easy."

She opens her mouth to retort with something just as an arm comes out of your hair - she screams, making you drop your sandwich.

"W-WHAT IS THAT!?"

You grab the arm, and yank Steven out of the portal he's created through your hair. He tumbles to the floor, groaning and rubbing his butt.

"You could just, like, I don't know, knock?!" You hiss out at him, patting the side of your head. That was.. uh. That felt weird.

"Maybe you should read your texts sometime!" He groans, flopping on the floor, arms out. "My poor back.."

"My fucking sandwich," You sigh, feeling sad for what could've been your life had you been able to eat the rest of it. "You owe me another one."

"I'll make you twenty if you help me not embarrass myself in front of Connie's mom again." 

"Deal." You grab his hand, helping lift him off the floor, and throw the rest of your destroyed sandwich into the garbage bin.

"Am I 'gonna get an explanation for that or are we ignoring it." Spinel says as she stares at the two of you like you've each grown another head. 

"Oh, he can just do that now that he pink’d me.” You answer quite bluntly, and Steven opens his mouth in offense.

“Don’t call it that! But she’s technically right.” He gives you a tired look, and it makes you feel a little gleeful that you can still get this kind of reaction out of him whenever you want. “I can do it with Lars too, but he’s taken to threatening me whenever I do it now.”

“You interrupt him in the bathroom again?” You grin at him, and his cheeks color slightly.

“No!” He says all too quickly. 

“Wait,” Spinel lowers her eyes to you, getting a strange expression on her face. She walks closer to you. “He can do that just whenever?” 

“Yeah, I mean, I’m sure he’ll ask beforehand, but yes,” You reply to her, watching as she lifts a hand to your head. “What’re you-”

“-does that mean I can?” She jabs the side of your head with her gloved hand without waiting for an answer - you slap her hand away as Steven laughs.

“No,” You sigh, Spinel only looking a little put out. “Steven’s the only gem who can. That would be a nightmare otherwise.”

“Anyway, I also came over to give you an update.” Steven clears his throat.

“For what?” You ask, now concerned. “Couldn’t you have just texted?”

“What, so you can just not look at it or text me back?” He shoots a pointed look at you, and you only feel a little bit guilty. “No, I needed to change your schedule specifically to fit around two others, so your first lesson got moved up to a bigger slot. It’s tomorrow. I’m sorry for the short notice.”

You stare at him, unsure of what to say.

“If you’re not ready, I can have Pearl take over for the time being-”

“-No! No. It’s fine, I just needed to mentally adjust to it.” You shake your head vigorously, not wanting him to get the wrong idea. You feel the anxiety swirling in your gut, but you manage to push most of it down for now. “I’m basically done with all my prep for it, anyway.”

“Only if you’re sure, Y/N.” He looks at you like he’s waiting for your face to betray you of something, but you ignore it. “Because you can talk to me if you’re-”

“It’s fine, Steven.” You cut him off. “You worry too much. Besides, you’ve got bigger things on your plate. Y’know, like Mrs. Maheswaran’s divine judgement.”

“Ugggggghhh, thanks for the reminder.” He wipes his hand down his face dramatically. “She wants me to come over for dinner this weekend so she can talk to the two of us about something. I’m not even sure what.”

“Buddy, you know she’s gonna grill you about your future.” You reply, and peer into the open box to the left of you. It’s full of kitchen supplies.

“That’s guaranteed.” He sighs, grabbing some of the items from you and putting them away. Of course he’s helping without any kind of prompt. “I don’t mind it, but I’d like a single dinner with them where I’m not feeling like I’m putting on some kind of performance.”

Your anxiety is still at the forefront of your mind.

“It can’t be that bad.” Spinel turns to him, breaking down the empty box in her hand. 

“You’ve never met Mrs. Maheswaran.” He retorts, placing your tea infusers into the silverware drawer and shutting it with a clank. “You have no idea what it feels like to talk to her. Sure she’s nice, but it’s like she’s always watching you under a little microscope..”

Spinel gives him some kind of snide response and snickers, and you hear Steven chuckle and holler out something in reply to that - but you had somehow tuned out the words as you opened the box to your bathroom supplies. 

“Give me a few, I’m gonna put all these away real quick,” You manage to say to them before ducking into the bathroom, neither of them seeming to notice your brief change in mood as you leave the door three-quarters closed.

You can still hear them making jabs at each other while Steven talks to Spinel about all the pressure Connie’s mom has put him under the last few years, and you set your box down on the toilet.

Uggghhh, okay. You can deal with this. You have no idea why something as simple as moving a lesson up two days is fucking you up this much, but you’re gonna have to deal with it anyway. Why the fuck are you so nervous? You’ve dealt with worse. You have your lessons ready - they’re basic things anyway. It’s easy. Sure, there’s a big crowd for attendance which is a little unheard of, but maybe more gems want to befriend and understand humans than you had previously considered.

You grab your box of hair ties and scrunchies, and shove them under the sink. You don’t need extras right now. You can still feel the anxiety there, under your skin. You pick up your blow dryer and straightener, placing those down as well. Why did Steven seem like he was expecting you to back out?

Does he think you’re incapable of handling this? Is this some kind of test?

You pull out your phone to text Amethyst.

[21:42] Y/N: Quick question.

[21:42] Y/N: You think I’m capable of teaching those classes?

You set your phone down after hitting send, and grab all your soaps to put away as you wait for a reply. Spinel’s voice rings out from the living room, and you focus on the sound of it for the time being. You reach into the box again, and pull out all your hair dye supplies from a while ago.

Huh. 

You turn the container of bleach around in your hand.

You stare at yourself in the mirror, and try not to wince at the reflection. You probably couldn’t.. right? You don’t think that your hair would take any kind of bleach or dye now. The utter irony is that you’ve experimented with every single other color for your hair before this, claiming you would never try pink to Steven.. and now it’s.. permanent. 

Your phone buzzes on the counter. You pick it up.

[21:44] Amethyst: uhh.. yeah?

[21:44] Amethyst: the fuck you asking for?

Okay, well. Now you just seem paranoid.

[21:44] Y/N: No reason..

Your fingers are hovering over the keyboard, and as you’re figuring out what to continue to type, she shoots a text back nearly instantly.

[21:45] Amethyst: :/

You put your phone back into your pocket. You don’t really feel like asking what that face is for, because you think you know the answer.

You finish putting away the remnants of what was left in the box, and walk back out into the living room where Steven and Spinel are now talking about how he met Connie. You throw your empty box off to the side, and look at all the stuff you have left to unpack on the floor. It’s not much left, you’re well over two-thirds done at this point, and ohhhhhhhhhhh you forgot about your laundry.

You let the other two know that you’ll be back in a few - Spinel shoots you a look that you ignore, and you head downstairs.

Your mind wanders nervously the entire way down, and the laundry room is empty when you arrive to get your clothes. Amethyst texts you again, asking you if you're okay, and you shoot her a quick 'yup just peachy'. You get your dry clothes, placing them into your hamper, and you scurry back to your floor to avoid any weird confrontations.

When you get back inside, you manage to catch the tail end of a quiet mutter from Steven to Spinel before he quickly runs his sentence into something else, and at an increased volume to avoid suspicion. You opt to pretend you didn't notice, and you easily slide back into the conversation as the three of you finish what you had set out tonight to accomplish.

Steven ends up leaving the normal way after you and him have a heavy discussion laying on your living room floor about his dinner problem, and he gives you an especially hard hug after letting you know he'll drop by after your lesson tomorrow to see how it goes with lunch that he now owes you.

The door in front of you closes with a click, and you lock it for the night. Not that you're expecting anyone to barge in, but force of habit. 

You're weirdly mentally exhausted. 

"I think I'm gonna take a shower. I feel kinda gross." Is what you hear coming out of your mouth, and you move to grab fresh laundry out of your pile that you left on the couch.

“I’m gonna try to finally figure out how to work this TV, then.” She replies, and you make your way into the bathroom, shutting the door behind you.

You place your clean clothes on the toilet lid as you turn the shower on, letting the room fill up with steam as you take off your clothes and kick them into the corner to deal with later. You don't really wanna take a shower in silence, so you opt to put some music on in the background.

You pull the curtain back, steam rolling out and hitting you directly in the face as you step inside the tub. It's so scaldingly hot that you barely manage to hold back a scream as you adjust the temp and stand away from the stream. 

After a couple seconds or so the water finally gets to a more reasonable temperature and you stand underneath it to let it soak you. It feels nice.

You look down to grab your shampoo, but instead see the gnarly scar on your stomach, and stop. You stare at it a while. The raised skin along the outer ring of where you basically got hole-punched feels weird. It's also a slightly darker pink than the rest of your skin, which you're still not really used to when you get a glimpse of yourself.

You remember the feeling of being pierced, and decide to stop thinking about this all together for now. 

You grab the shampoo bottle and pour some into your hand, rubbing it into your scalp. You feel your muscles relax.

The door to the bathroom opens and closes, and all of a sudden you hear the shower curtain being pulled back. 

"Do you MIND." You slap your arms around yourself self consciously, still having soap in your hair. You can't see shit but you know it's Spinel.

"Pfft, 'ya act like I've never seen you naked. Anyway, I just wanted to know how to turn on the TV? I can’t figure it out." She asks, letting the colder air of the bathroom in, and you can hear some water hitting the floor.

"Will you close the curtain," You reach out, grabbing the edge of the vinyl liner, just as Spinel opens it wider to step inside with you. "-what the fuck are you doing?"

"Oh, the water’s warm? This doesn’t feel too bad," You rinse the rest of your shampoo out, just to see her fully clothed half a foot from you, hand reaching out to touch the stream of water. Your heart is beating wildly - but you find yourself at ease with her presence in here, oddly enough. She’s watching you curiously.

"What, you can't figure the TV out yourself? And you thought I took cold showers, really?!" You scoff at her, unfazed at this point by her antics. "The fact that you're in here with clothes on kinda says everything about you."

"I can take 'em off." She says to you, like, duh Y/N, don't you even know me by now? You glare at her, which isn't hard since there's water being sprayed onto you and into your eyes, and she phases off her clothes, shoes and all in an instant. "Better?" She asks, like she’s doing you a favor.

"Gems don't need to take showers." You deadpan at her. "And weren't you trying to figure out the TV?"

"Just because I don't need to doesn't mean I can't. Also, I could help 'ya." She says cheekily, grinning a little.

"I don't need help bathing myself," You roll your eyes at her in jest, water starting to drench her hair. You think it’s really cute that she offers, but you’re sure she just wants a chance at messing around with you. Not that you’d really mind right now, and well.. you school your face into one that isn’t obvious to what you’re currently thinking about. You try not to focus too much on her gemstone in the middle of her chest, or her breasts, or those soft looking shoulders, or the rest of her naked expanse of skin - you need to stop before you get carried away. "..but I bet you would."

“Are ‘ya saying I can’t figure out something as simple as bathing? Something I’ve watched you do? Wow. I’m hurt, Y/N.” She feigns offense, looking around at the bottles of soap and shampoo products you have in here, picking them up and starting at the labels.

“Then try it.” You watch her eye a bar of soap, and then pick it up with her wet hands. It almost shoots out of her hands at you, and she barely manages to keep it within her grip hilariously enough.

“See, I know what I’m doing,” She says stubbornly, bringing the bar up to her nose to smell it. She rubs a bit of the suds off, wiping it on her palm curiously. All of a sudden, you get a really good idea.

“Yeah, and if you actually did, you’d know that that’s what I use to clean the inside of my mouth.” You raise your eyebrows at her, begging your own face to not betray you. 

“Wait, really?!” Her eyes widen, giving you a slightly disturbed look. She peers at the soap, bringing it closer to her face. “I mean, it smells good and the shape is right..”

She licks it, and immediately gags. The look on her face of utter disgust is the best thing you’ve seen all week.

“AUUUUGH,” She wails, pushing her face into the water to scrape off the remaining soap, and the laugh that comes out of your mouth is so loud it echoes throughout the bathroom. “Y/N!”

“Gullible.” Is all you can say between laughs, and she musters a glare at you.

“I trusted you!”

“That was your mistake.” You retort with a grin. “I don’t eat soap. I’m surprised you believed that.”

“Never AGAIN.” She gags one more time, and you grab for your bottle of conditioner.

“Here, lemme show you.” You step outside of the constant stream of water, and trade places with Spinel. Once you’re done rubbing the conditioner into your own hair, you grab your shampoo for her. You look at her drenched in water, watching you closely. You won’t lie when it makes your heart flutter in your chest, and it feels a little like falling. “Can you take your hair down for this?”

“Oh, sure,” She makes quick work of undoing her hair, and yeah, you’re definitely staring at her now. You’re having a really hard time hiding it. Getting some shampoo in your hand, you have her step out of the water for a moment and start rubbing it into her scalp. She relaxes so much into your touch that you feel your heart start to beat a little faster. “Y/N?” 

“Hm?” You answer.

“You seemed kind of off earlier.” She says, and you quickly rip your gaze from her. She definitely notices. “I could just.. tell.”

“It’s nothing, really.” You sigh, rubbing small circles into her scalp. You were kind of hoping she’d brush it off, but noooooo. She has to be observant.

She grabs your hands to still your motions momentarily, giving you a more serious look. “You wanna talk about it?”

“Nah, I’m just anxious about tomorrow, I’ll get over it.” You meet her eyes again, and hers waver between yours as if she’s searching for a different answer. Like she doesn’t really believe you, even though honestly, that’s all it really is. You feel a little something there in your chest when you realize that she’s only like this because she actually cares about you. “Don’t worry about me.” You insist, not really wanting to overthink the day you’ve got ahead of you. 

“Want me to come to the lesson?" She offers as she drops your hands, tilting her head in question; a glob of shampoo suds run down the side of her neck. The sight is weirdly enticing.. or maybe you’re just a little pent up. Being here alone with her after what feels like forever, and naked on top of that has your brain thinking of things you probably shouldn’t be thinking of right now. 

You’re only a little ashamed of yourself.

“Don’t you fucking dare, Spinel. You’ll just give me performance anxiety.” You resume massaging her scalp, managing to get some shampoo also into her ends. You briefly have a passing thought about not wanting to dry out her long strands, because split ends at this hair length fucking blow, and then you remember she’s a gem. That doesn’t even matter. You feel a little jealous that she doesn’t have to put these kinds of thoughts into her daily routine.

"I wouldn't do anything, promise. Maybe a comment or two, but that's it." She retorts as she brings her palms up in feign offense, and you push her gently back by her shoulders under the stream of water to rinse out her hair, careful to not get her eyes. She sighs as you run your fingers against her scalp, eyes nearly drooping she’s so relaxed. "This feels really nice.." She mumbles, and the way it has your heart feeling like someone’s dropped pop rocks into it..

"I know you have work to do tomorrow though, so don't shirk your duties.” You’re basically caressing her head at this point, and she’s totally leaning into it completely. You have a feeling if you dropped your hands from her head, it’d slam into a wall. “I'll ask Garnet to sit in since she offered."

"Y/N." She looks at you, water running down her hair and face, cascading over her small shoulders. The marks beneath her eyes are strikingly dark in this light, and her pink irises are locked onto yours. You're barely listening to the lofi song playing in the background as it's mainly drained out by the white noise of the shower. She's pretty, in a way that you probably think she's never considered before, and sometimes you wish you could say this out loud without feeling like you'd combust on the spot instead. She then opens her mouth almost hesitantly, like she's finding the proper words to say. "If 'ya need me, I can be there. But.. you're kind of the bravest person I know by a long shot, so.. I know you'll be okay. You've got this, doll."

You feel your face burning at the pet name and her words, and you find yourself avoiding her eyes again. You can’t even think of a reply, and feel like you might have a heart attack.

"Are you blushing?!" She grabs your forearms in glee, and you feel your face scowling just to cover up the fact that she can have this kind of effect on you. No one has this effect on you, and goddammit you’re not about to start showing it now.

"No, idiot. It's just hot in here.." You retort, and she leans right into your personal space, about an inch from your face. Your heartbeats feel so INCREDIBLY loud in your ears.

"Liar." Her grin gets wider, and you can see her canines right there at the edge of her lip. WHY is she so attractive?! This should be illegal. "I can keep talking 'ya up if that's what you need."

"Not necessary, or needed, really.." You trail off awkwardly, knowing your face is still beet red and pretending it’s from the heat of the shower. 

"Did'ja know that you're also the funniest person I know? And the smartest? And the sexi-"

"-SPINEL." You cut her off with a choke, voice coming out all strangled.

"You've got 'ta be the most stubborn person alive, I swear." She lowers her eyes, gaze lingering on your lips. The way some of her water-logged hair clings to her skin has your eyes glued to her chest, and the gem that sits upon it. 

"You should spend a few weeks hanging out with Pearl." You try to play it off cool, and you’re anything but. 

"Why, when I'd rather spend it with you." She retorts with an eyeroll, and like, you know that the both of you have your affections laid out on the metaphorical table already, but you still find your face burning at her being so clear with it. “If it’s not compliments ‘ya want, I can be a distraction?” She asks, and then blinks several times rapidly in succession very comically, and you can’t help it but laugh.

“Yeah? And how?” You ask stupidly.

“Ohhhh, remember earlier in the kitchen?”

Your eyes snap to hers. Is she..

"Wait, you’re talking about doing it in the sho-"

She yanks your arms - pulling you forward into a kiss, and your foot slips so hard on the tub floor that you have to catch yourself on her shoulders. Her laughter rings out through the bathroom.

"Oh stars, Y/N falling into my arms? I never thought-"

"Shut uuuuuuuup," You groan, glaring at her. The thought of the two of you, here, fucking in the shower is swirling inside your head. Both of you are wet and pressed together, and you are screaming internally. "You're the one that caught me off guard, asshole."

"Maybe I just wanna see you swooning, for once. Or squirming. I'm not too choosy." The grin on her face mixed with her words has you feeling some kind of way, and you try to still your rapidly beating heart. She wants to see you squirm?! You're flattered, and also embarrassed..

"I don't swoon, Spinel. You know me better than that by now. And if you couldn't make me squirm before all this, when we weren't even friends, then good fucking luck with trying that out now that I'm familiar with you." You spit out, hoping the nervousness in your voice doesn't give you away. She doesn't need to know that you like it when she's a little aggressive and grabby. That would give her too much power.

Her eyes flicker across your face, catching onto something within your expression; her grin widens.

"Then why do you seem so nervous now?"

"Uh," Your heart jumps into your throat, and you feel the red creeping back onto your cheeks. Curse your now-pink complexion. "Pffft. What? I do not! Why the hell do you think I'm nervous!?" You lie, and it comes out of your throat an octave higher you think, which is fucking embarassing really.

"Well," She chuckles briefly, and then her face drops considerably into an expression you'd deem nearly sinister if you didn't know her. 

"Um-"

She pushes you back against the shower wall behind you hard - a squeak comes out your mouth - as the air leaves your lungs, her hand splayed out on your chest into holding you there. It feels almost like silence has filled the room, when it's quite the opposite actually - the sound of the water hitting you both is quite deafening as you stare at each other. You think she can feel your heartbeats. Like, her hand is RIGHT THERE. Her thumb even rubs the skin there a little.

"I'm starting to think you like it when I manhandle you." She says, voice low. Her fingers are pressing into your sternum.

You take the time to breathe in some air, and try to blink like a normal person. A droplet of water runs down your lower spine and you fight off a shiver. Are you really that easy to read!?

"Your silence is speaking volumes right now." She chuckles, eyes watching you like a hawk.

You have no idea what your face is displaying, but it's probably something similar to mortified shock - how can she keep hitting the nail on the head?

"Oh, shit, am I hurting you?" She quickly pulls her hands away, nearly looking frantic as her face twists into worry at your silence.

"No, of course not-" You stop, getting a weird look on your face. "-I died, remember? You can't, pfft, - I mean you can, but. Spinel." You try not to laugh, because her being worried about this is extremely endearing, and you love her so, so much. "You're not hurting me, and if you were, I'd make sure you knew."

"Okay, good, because I was really worried there for a second that I had-"

"It's fine." You reassure her, and she's looking at you intently. "Seriously."

"Like, you know that I'd rather poof myself than ever put a finger on 'ya, right?"

"I'm aware, and you know that I trust you, yes?" 

"I was 'kinda worried, but, it's clear now." She's so very close to your face, and she's warm. Her eyes take in your features as if she's burning them into her memories, and you can't help but stare back. 

She kisses you again, wet lips pressing against yours so easily - it's as if she had been coordinating this as soon as she stepped into the shower with you. Or maybe this was her entire reason. Bastard. 

She slides one of her legs between yours - yeah, okay, she was definitely planning this - and you find yourself groaning into her mouth; hot water spraying onto the both of you. You tear your face away from hers momentarily to take in a gasp of breath and she grabs your jaw, her vibrant pink irises locked onto yours.

"Breathe through your nose." She demands, not giving you any kind of opportunity to get away as she kisses you almost roughly. You feel like your entire body is on fire. 

Her body's pressed against yours; and at this angle you can see her gemstone shining in the light above you, glistening with water. She slides her knee up to put pressure between your legs, and as to not make it so easy for her you attempt to slam them shut - only making the situation worse for yourself. 

You moan as you feel her pressed against your clit, and you feel her grinning against your mouth. She slides her tongue in then, and the combined sensations has your head feeling a little light. It actually irks you enough to attempt to push her off of you to get some kind of leverage over her, but she clearly anticipated some kind of fight because she growls against your mouth in resistance, and uses both her hands to slam yours against the wall behind you with an iron grip.

What a brat.

The harder you struggle, the more she presses all of herself against you. Her grip on your forearms get a little tighter; and you find that this just makes all of your current problems worse. She rips her lips away from yours to give you some kind of smug, shit-eating grin. "You're really trying this time, aren't 'ya doll. I'll give 'ya that."

"Why won't you let me touch you?!" You spit out, but it comes out all breathily and not at all aggressive like you'd hoped.

"If you're good, maybe." She laughs, and you wish you could disappear on the spot at will. "But this is your turn."

"IF I'M-" You hiss out, Spinel switching her grip so she's got the both of your hands in one, making the other completely free to grope your breast. Her palm rubs over your nipple. "You are such a shithead!!"

"You knowwww, if you don't like it you could always tell me you wanna stop," Her eyelids lower enough to still see her irises glued to your face, and she leans in to whisper into your ear. "But we already know that you want this, Y/N."

You snap your mouth shut and she chuckles darkly, and you would like to die now, thanks. If there's a god out there, you hope he's merciful and smites you on the spot.

She immediately attacks your neck, and she doesn't give you any kind of say about it either. She's using so much teeth this time that you're worried you're going to look like a spotted leopard tomorrow, and oh god, you almost forgot.

"Leave any marks and I'll attempt to poof you myself, Spinel." You shudder as she sucks hard near the crook of your neck, hot tongue against your skin, and when she looks at you her eyes have some kind of suspicious glint to them. 

"Wear a sweater." Is all she says before going right back to your neck, and the only thing you can really do is bite back a moan as she continues. You're going to kill her for this. You're going to find out how to embarrass her in front of her new friends, or SOMETHING. How the fuck are you going to cover up these marks before your class tomorrow?! The several shades of pink blush you picked up from the drug store a few days ago from your previous shenanigans barely managed to cover the lighter marks she left last time! 

You feel her slide a hand down your torso to reach between your legs, and with the last of your strength you try and slam your legs shut just to make this difficult for her.

She chuckles into your neck, and her warm breath lights your nerves on fire. It's so steamy in here now, and some kind of jazz oldie is playing that you can kind of hear over the sound of running water. And then she drops your hands just to grip both of your thighs and spread them apart forcefully, and there's nothing you can really do about that. You know that you're heavily aroused, and you hope it isn't too obvious to her.

Holding you open, she presses her palm against you, tips of her fingers hesitating at your entrance. Like she's waiting for something.. your legs start to tremble, then she slides two fingers into you and you slam a hand over your mouth to stop yourself from moaning.

"No one's going to hear us, 'ya idiot." You hear her say, and you nearly laugh. She immediately curls her fingers upwards, and you're seeing stars at the edges of your vision.

"You think I care about being loud? I just don't want you to think you can drag anything out of me too easily," You say in between breaths, and she makes some kind of displeased grunt in reply.

"Asked for this.." Is what you hear from her before she adds a third finger; you take it quite easily, embarrassingly enough, and starts to really finger fuck you as she watches your face. 

A strangled moan comes out of you, and you see the corner of her lip curl enough to show her teeth. You hate that she can do this to you. Your hands are free though, and you think you can fuck with her a little as payback. One of your hands shoot out to touch her gem, and she lowers her eyes to glare at you and the offending appendage.

"Whaddya' think you're 'doin, Y/N?" She asks, lowly. There's a darker pink that bleeds onto her cheeks quite rapidly here, and you swipe a thumb over her center facet in spite.

"Whatever I want." You reply. Her eye twitches.

"I don't think so." She hisses and slams her lips against yours - roughly pushing your hand away from her gem, like how dare you have the audacity to even think about touching her right now. She presses you against the wall with her own body, and you moan into her mouth.

Your thighs are shaking, and the hot steam mixed with the noises of her roughly pounding her slick fingers inside you makes it apparent that you're actually not going to last like this at all. She drags moan after moan from you relentlessly, unable to stop herself from biting down into the crook of your neck like she's trying to claim you for herself. As if you'd let anyone else touch you like this.

And then she lifts up her head enough to warmly whisper something about how much she loves being in the middle of your thighs like this into your ear, and you start to see stars as your orgasm violently wracks through your body.

She holds you, watching your face as you come down, leaving small kisses upon your lips.

"Was that okay?" She mumbles the question, looking at you to make sure you're alright. The water is starting to lose heat, which means both of you should finish this up soon.

"I'm going to make you regret ever taking me as a hostage." You answer with a grin, and her eyebrows shoot up into her hairline. 

"Are 'ya sure about that?" She replies, withdrawing her fingers from you ever so slowly. 

You think you're in the clear, and then she slides them back in, and you can't cut the gasp that comes out of your mouth. You slam a hand on her shoulder, glaring at your girlfriend.

"I'm sensitive, you jerk." You spit out at her, and she grins cheekily. She then actually pulls out her fingers for real, and you really, really want to make her pay for this. "Let's finish this up, the water is getting colder by the minute."

The both of you quickly finish your bathing routine, and you're almost annoyed that Spinel can just vanish water from her completely while you're still soaking wet, and trying to dry yourself with a towel.

You put on your sleepwear and drag your girlfriend to bed, where you pay her back tenfold. You honestly hope the walls aren’t thin.

You're tired, and sleep comes to you easy with thoughts of what tomorrow will bring. 

[lucidpantone]

Visitations Preview Chap 5: The Finale

**Go and grab your tissue box. You’ll really need to stop being so emosh. @cph-dreaming @fehmyn @hopetofantasy @cleocc @msmesasha​. If I forgot to tag you am sorry. It’s only one memory and that's all you're getting.**

Disclaimer: Same rules apply.

Italics is the past. If not, it's August 15th at any point in the day I chose to drop you into.

“Just one?” 

“Yeah” Robbe responded, acknowledging the cashier.

“To Amsterdam?”

Robbe nodded.

“1st or 2nd class?”

“1st please.”

“That will be €54”

Robbe shoots the cashier a nondescript smile as he sticks his credit card into the card reader and enters his pin to complete the transaction. The cashier hands him over the purchase receipt and signals for the next customer to proceed. Robbe begins to walk away and clumsily walks back a couple of steps and asks “In what direction is platform 3?”. The cashier signals towards the left hand side exit of the post office. Robbe sees the platform in the distance as he exits the store and runs towards it with a couple of minutes to spare before departure. He makes it in just the nick of time and settles into a window seat, anxious to reach his final destination.

The nostalgia of his final stop always caught Robbe off guard. Every time he came back here whether on his own, or with him, everything seemed to have stayed exactly the same since the first time. This place was a strange kinda of place wrapped up in its own personal deja-vu. Housing an unknown poltergeist where earthlingly oddities roamed and mother nature dared to roll around with the solar flares of the sun between her legs. A consequence of all the zygotes that got produced here seasonally. Robbe really didn’t care though, he loved it here, he always found himself here. There was something about this place; rudimentary in its makeup at best but possessing a sense of serenity,  with a dose of mystery, even some romance, a portal to another universe. This place always felt like home. Robbe would visit old haunts, walk the dunes of time, revel in the taste of sodium in the air. He’d hit up familiar store stalls, check out the best vantage points but eventually he’d always find himself back at their old place.

It was restaurant style. Not the fancy type made out of linen.It was white with miniature clams embossed atop, 2ply, 15 inches across but folded down the middle, then folded into 4’s and then once more to emulate the size of a standard envelope. Robbe had seen them in different colors but most people in the world only saw them in that pearl white that the standard restaurant napkins were made of. He just stared into the pattern recalling the day when this senseless artifact became an urn that stored the ashes of his love story.

“This is so stupid, I mean it's basically a pipe dream. It’s never gonna happen.” Sander told Robbe as he pulled out a marker from his back pocket.

“Come on just do it for me.” Robbe begged. Sander chuckled because he knew once Robbe made a request he was going to appease it.

“Okay…. So my dream tattoo shop would look something like this.”  Sander drew out three squares lined up horizontally next to each other like carriages on a train atop the restaurant napkin.

“So the whole concept would be based on the idea that it wouldn't even look like a tattoo shop but a gallery space. Operationally it would be a place of business but functionally it would double up as a tattoo shop/community art space. You know people always associate tattoo shops as these dark and dengy out posts but when you’d walk into mine you’d be flushed with a burst of light making the whole place feel airy. Like a sense of wholeness or something.”

Robbe found Sander’s light up smile endearing as he walked through his imaginary tattoo shop schematic. Robbe rubbed the top of Sander’s hand with his thumb encouraging Sander to continue explaining his future’s prospects.

“I love the way you think baby. You're always so thoughtful and creative.”

“Like I said it's never going to happen but you never know right….life is full of surprises.” Sander was downplaying how much he wanted this future to become a reality.

“No no no. Don’t say it’s never going to happen. We’ll find a way to make it happen.”

“Oh are you going to learn how to tattoo now?” Sander gave Robbe a cheeky grin because Robbe couldn’t even draw a rectangle correctly. Well at least not yet...

“No but I’ll find a way to chip in. I could run the reception or something.” Robbe knew that wouldn’t be much help but that's the best his nineteen year old self could come up with at the time.

“Promise we’ll find a way to make it happen?” Robbe always did this to Sander. Whenever Sander lacked belief in himself Robbe would make him promise on whatever desire he was discounting.

“Only if you promise we’ll do it together?”

“Deal, I mean that’s not a hard request. You know I always keep my promises.”

Robbe and Sander both giggled because both of them knew that Robbe’s promises never faltered. Robbe was the most reliable person Sander knew. Sander couldn’t help but indulge Robbe’s interest in their never gonna happen future.

“Anyways I’m thinking the color scheme would go something like white in the gallery, black in the tattoo shop and then maybe an entry to a garden or patio area.”

Sander rambled on and on about how eventually the gallery space could host events or have fun community sessions. He could teach art to youths since he knew how much art had helped him when he was younger. He had completely mapped out the potential of a place like this and the excitement in his voice was insatiable to say the least.

Robbe loved hearing the sound of Sander’s voice in this particular amped up pitch. It was so tranquil and soothing to him.

“Excuse me, do you need this? It was stuck in between the euros on top of your bill.”

Robbe looked up from the napkin and took inventory of his surroundings. He had got lost in his own memories again. It was becoming a frequent occurrence as of late. He looked up at the waitress who was attempting to hand him over a waxy piece of textured paper. He thanked her and took hold of it.

It was the post office receipt.

Robbe had almost totally forgotten about the dread of having to text Luc to let him know he had mailed back his stuff today. Specifically his GIRL brand skateboard that he adored so much. They hadn’t spoken since their break up but as Robbe went to grab his phone to text Luc he saw a text from Kes.

“Sorry, this is awkward but Luc asked me to ask you if you mailed back his stuff yet?”

        - Kes

“I did it today. It should get to him in 3-5 days. I mailed it 1st class.”

“Umm how’s he doing? Has he said anything to you?”

        - Robbe

“Look, That's my best friend.I don’t want to get involved. All he said to me was that you weren’t ready to invest in love….”

       - Kes

Luc always had a way with words. Always knew how to make Robbe feel guiltier than he already felt. Luc was as blunt as a knife's edge so when he stabbed you he made sure it was torturous and never swift.

As the waitress laid down Robbe’s change from his paid bill he took one final glance over to the broken down booth that he and Sander used to call “their spot”. It stung seeing it empty but he still smiled at the memory of his younger self sneaking the diagram that Sander had penned atop the napkin into his brown jacket. Not knowing then that eventually he’d get to remind an older Sander that sometimes dreams do come true.

The walk back to the house on the beach was refreshing. A light zephyr surged around the pier’s promenade creating an idyllic breeze that seemed to galvanize the local pelican community into flight. The whole ambiance of this beachy hideaway gave Robbe a much needed reprieve from the conflict ensuing in his mind. A litany of doubtful thoughts with no real answers. Continued avoidance was working so far in his favor but Robbe knew that Sander’s patience would wear.

They hadn’t spoken much since the break up. Sander had stuck around for a few days after the initial night to keep Robbe company but the whole ordeal lacked morality. They'd lay in bed together watching TV while Sander just held Robbe tightly. Practically bruising Robbe’s arms. Every few hours Robbe would be stricken with a wave of guilt over what he had done to Luc and he’d need Sander to fuck it out of him. The situation was dire and the irrational had somehow become the rational. Robbe needed to get his shit together and stop his dopesick lifestyle. Sander could not become the dragon he needed to chase to stop the withdrawals. He didn’t deserve that. Robbe had done what he had done and he needed to learn to live with it.

He did eventually kick Sander out after 4 days of this delirium stating that he needed time and space and he just needed Sander to respect that for now. He also called his boss explaining the situation and begging him to forget his resignation. Robbe was lucky that the firm was understaffed and had just signed on new business because otherwise Thibaut would have never agreed to it. At least that was one crisis averted, his apartment on the other hand was in shambles. Everything was in packing boxes and everything needed to be rehoused which was a painstaking process but he did it. It took him a couple of weeks but he did eventually put the pieces of his life back together. Finally waking up one morning after a three week haze with an impulsive craving to head to the house on the beach. Robbe wasn’t sure why he needed to go there, he just knew that it was calling and thus why he now found himself wandering down the promenade on his lonesome. A sherbet sky as his backdrop.

Robbe welcomed the change of scenery of his beachy escape. A part of him loathed his apartment now it was covered in a slime of memories he could not scrub away. Though the house on the beach was nothing more than some worn down furniture he welcomed the opportunity to grab his guitar and lay out on the garden bench outside his room and just strum the night away. It was that time of the day anyways. Sander and Robbe barely spoke or texted during this reflective period but they did communicate in the best way they knew how. See these siloed lovers had their own traditions. Sander had established it but Robbe had developed it. When either one of them didn't feel like talking, usually Sander they communicate in their most comfortable non-verbal formats. For Sander this was his usual set of drawings and for Robbe it was always his guitar. So keeping in line with their usual pattern Sander would text Robbe pictures of his drawings daily and Robbe would return to sender a voice clip of whatever chorus he had strummed together for the day. So that was what he was in the middle of doing when he saw it.

Robbe looked out onto the rainbow sherbet sky; it was an apparition in the distance. He blinked to make sure it wasn't an illusion then a second time for confirmation but it wasn’t a trick of the mind. A figure began to materialize over the sand dunes in an all black attire sporting some laced up Doc Marten’s.

Robbe’s body tensed up. How could it even be possible that he was here too... but as soon as the affliction of concern took over him it quickly dematerialized as the apparition in the distance came into focus and took on corporeal form. Robbe definitely didn’t know her but he couldn't stop observing her. She had a juggernaut presence, he was in awe, curious too but more so because she felt so familiar. Her lavender pinkish locks stood out; they helped frame her face with a dose of softness which was in opposition with the rest of her appearance.

She made a b-line towards Robbe’s direction approaching him with haste. She passed the candy strip ballards and walked onto the wooden planked walkway that paved the entrance of the house on the beach. She stopped at the teal colored Kalise cooler. She opened it and evaluated whatever she found inside and walked right over to the wooden garden bench where Robbe sat legs up strumming his guitar. Robbe shifted his focus downward in an attempt to avoid her gaze.

“Are you the manager here?”

Robbe looked at her completely bewildered recalling the previous time he was asked that same question. Before he had time to think of a cheeky retort she interjected into his thoughts.

“I just wanted to pay for a beer from the cooler”

Robbe kicked his legs off the bench and sat up.

“Oh those are mine actually but feel free to grab one. Free of charge of course”

Robbe shot her a wink.

She was pretty, he thought. Robbe had to double check his senses for a moment. He had never been drawn to a woman like this before. He took a moment to evaluate his entire life choices but it definitely wasn’t that. It wasn’t that kind of connection but there was something about her. It's like his body was reacting to some strange paradox in the universe that had hashed out this otherworldly eidolon sitting in front of him.

“Ummm do I have something on my face or something?” She asked as she brought the rim of the bottle to her lips.

“No…” Robbe replied with a hint of embarrassment in his voice.

“Ok so what are you staring at?”

“Shit sorry, you just seem so familiar. Am just trying to put my finger on where I may have seen you before. Are you from around here?”

“Do I sound like I am from around here?” She slapped back with a hint of sarcasm.

Robbe felt like an idiot as soon as the sentence left his mouth. She clearly had a heavy accent and she definitely wasn’t from around here. Her dutch was terrible but conversational. Her whole vibe screamed from somewhere south.

“So whose heart did you break?”

“What?” Robbe scoffed in disbelief. The reminder of guilt sinking him back into his seat.

“Come on..a pretty boy like you strumming his guitar with this as his backdrop” She pointed out to the sherbet bleeding sky; currently highlighting a color mixture of tangerine and cadmium rouge.

“A bit cliche don’t you think?”

“How’d you know I broke someone’s heart and they didn’t break mine?”

“With a face like that. You’re definitely the culprit.” Robbe was blushing but he didn’t disagree; he just stretched out the bottom half of his jaw in a slight twitch.

“Come on I can smell the guilt coming off you? Trust me I should know, it’s my favourite scent.” The pretty girl shot him an eyebrow raise to check Robbe’s temperature. Making sure she hadn’t offended him.

“I don’t even know you….”

“That’s the best part. You can tell me everything and I’ll be honest with you”

At first this sounded ludicrous but then again Robbe hadn’t told anyone the events that had actually occurred that had caused his downward spiral. He was deeply ashamed of how he handled everything and couldn’t bear to see the judgement across Jens or Lia’s face.

“I am Robbe, perpetual dumpster fire of a person. What’s your name?”

The pixie doll apparition shot her focus downward and whispered out, “Whatever you want it to be Robbe?”

“Pick a name for me?”

Why all the mystery? Robbe thought to himself. A didactic approach, Robbe could recognize a fellow strategist when he encountered one.

“No no no, you don’t get to do that. I can’t be the only one telling my secrets.”

She scoffed.

“Fine fine. Call me C.J.”

Robbe pulled a face, “That is not your real name.”

“You said you wanted a name, you never said anything about it being my real name. Take it or leave it.”

God she really did remind him of someone.

“Ok Robbe, I kept my end of the bargain. So tell me your secrets.”

Robbe rolled his eyes at her. There was something about her that was positively unbearable but also highly comforting.

“I recently broke up with my boyfriend…..” Robbe murmured out. She waved her hand in a circular motion indicating to Robbe that she wanted more details and to keep going.

“Because I think i'm still in love with my ex….”

“You think? Or you know?” C.J. questioned.

Robbe put his guitar down on the side of the bench and buried his face in his hands as a display of his frustration.

“I gather that means you know.”

C.J. pivoted her entire body towards his and scooted over rubbing Robbe’s shoulder very lightly. A strangely intimate gesture to exchange between strangers.

“It’s okay, I mean it's not, but you know what I mean.” C.J. attempted to quell Robbe’s worries.

“Ok your gonna need another beer so you can tell me what happened.”

C.J. got up and scurried to the Kalise cooler and hurried back with a beer in hand.

Robbe took a large gulp as soon as she put it in his grip.

“I slept with my ex-boyfriend as soon as me and my new boyfriend broke up”

C.J. shocked her head back and forth as a sign of some weird understanding.

“How long after the break up?”

Robbe buried his face back into his hands. He didn’t want to look at her reaction.

“Like an hour…..”

Robbe clearly heard her shocked snort which was preceded by heavy coughing.

“Sorry, choked on my beer there for a second. An hour? How? Did you drive a ferrari to his house?” She was definitely mocking him now.

“No he was waiting on my doorstep?”

“You got him delivered? His not takeout Robbe.”

“But I gotta admit you Belgians are impressive. We don’t have those types of delivery services from where I'm from. At best you can get a lukewarm pizza to your doorstep.”

Robbe looked at C.J. who was clearly trying to ease the tension and crack a joke. Robbe felt a genuine smile come across his face. He’d been struggling to get one of those to appear as of late.

“Look, I am not gonna sugar coat it. You're a real life asshole.”

“Excuse me?” Robbe responded a bit offended.

“Yeah I mean who breaks up with their boyfriend and has their ex delivered to them within an hour? Kinda of an asshole thing to do.”

“You know what, I don’t need to explain myself to you.” Robbe’s tone had hardened.

“You don’t, but you want to, right? I know because I've been there. Am the biggest asshole I know.”

“So here we are two of the biggest assholes drinking a beer together. Cheers!”

C.J. tapped her beer onto Robbe’s.

Though his instinct was too feel offended by the words coming out of C.J.’s mouth his heart and his head felt a bit of relief finally letting it all out. No matter how ugly his truths sounded out loud.

“Have you ever done something like that yourself?” Robbe questioned C.J. hoping for a bit of camaraderie.

“Not something like that but I’ve put my girlfriend through some serious bullshit. Why do you think I'm in some foreign country driving towards home?”

C.J. pointed at herself, “Total asshole remember”.

“Look Robbe when you're young, a teenager even. You can make mistakes like that and people give you the benefit of the doubt but when you're older everything counts. It's harsh but true.If you keep messing up at our age you become a pariah, a write off, beyond repair, ready to be put out to pasture.”

“But at the same time life’s complicated. People are complicated. Your love story sounds complicated. So ask yourself this, would he really stick by you through the good times, the bad and the motherfucking worse? Because everyone swears they would but in reality that’s not really true. They have no idea how bad it can really get. How bad you can really get. So I’d ask yourself this, would he fight for you? No matter the outcome?”

Robbe just stared at her. He kept wanting to say something but he couldn't seem to construct a sentence. Then it clicked like osmosis.

“You remind me of him, you know. The way you talk. Your whole vibe.” Robbe did a wax on/wax off gestures in C.J.’s direction.

“Who knows..maybe we’re the same person. Do you believe in parallel universes?”

Robbe's head violently spun around. A tidal wave of deja-vu was submerging him. He just nodded in confirmation. Robbe was definitely a believer of parallel universes.

“Yeah I thought so. Kindred spirits and all. We tend to find each other.”

Robbe knew what she meant. It was weird but somehow he felt like they had been here before.

Robbe and C.J. just sat there in silence for a while watching the colors of tangerine and cadmium rouge disappear into midnight hues. Robbe occasionally strumming some chord changes into the air. C.J. humming out some impromptu melodies both go them going back and forth discussing guitar legends that one another should check out. Until it was time for their rendezvous to end.

“I should go. I have a long drive ahead of me tomorrow.”

Robbe frowned a little disappointed. He didn’t want her to leave.

C.J. noticed and pouted in response. Both man and woman giggled into the breezy night. Before C.J. stood up she left Robbe with a nugget of truth as she drank the dregs of what was left of her last beer. Wiping her mouth down on her long sleeve shirt as she finished her drink.

“Robbe……” She sounded somber.

“The world never wanted people like you and I to be lovers. They bullied us into becoming fighters and we’ve been trying to get back to loving ever since. Just look at our past”

“My advice, look out for the small stuff. Signs. You can build a foundation off those. If you’re willing...”

C.J. began to get up from the bench.

“You’ll be fine either way Robbe but if you do have someone worth fighting for I try to protect that from the world. Remember through the good, the bad and the mother fucking worse. No matter the outcome.”

Her words struck a chord in Robbe.

“Promise me if you find that. That you’ll jump?”

C.J.’s dark brown eyes felt like they were pinning down Robbe’s soul down. Holding him to some unknown truth but he couldn’t say no to her.

“I promise” Robbe affirmed.

C.J. smiled and quickly broke the seriousness of the entire exchange.

“Right time to go. This was great. Best one night stand of my life. I didn’t even have to put out.”

“Are you ever just normal?” Robbe teased.

“What’s so great about being normal… am an enigma Robbe.” C.J. began to walk down the wooden sandy planks when Robbe shouted out to her.

“Hey, How do I find you again?”

“You don’t Robbe. This was just a random anomaly. We were never meant to meet in the first place.”

Though normally this would seem like a brush off. Robbe somehow understood the dyadic transaction that had just occurred.

“I guess we’ll meet again in another universe?” He let out.

C.J. stopped dead in her tracks.

She twirled back around, her entire self looking back at Robbe and said.

“I’ll be waiting for you.”

[love-takes-work]

Steven Universe Comic Fusion Frenzy (2019) - Outline & Review

Steven Universe: Fusion Frenzy is a mega issue with five separate stories that each focus on a different Fusion from the show. It's available digitally from ComiXology in the States and from Boom Studios and your local comic shop.

There are four covers for this one: two are by artist Nathalie Fourdraine and they connect together to make a single picture, while a third rarer variant is by Abigail L. Dela Cruz, and then there's a Wondercon exclusive by Alexandra Lillie.

The five stories feature Stevonnie, Garnet, Smoky Quartz, Opal, and Sugilite. And though, as per usual with comics, these cannot be taken as "show canon," they all show us experiences and perspectives we've really wanted to see with these Fusions! Except for Garnet--who speaks so rarely about her experience despite her everyday presence--we don't get to spend much time with any of these others, and it's so much fun to get a peek at these comic authors' and artists' ideas of what it would be like.

This is a review of each story, with an illustrated plot description and a list of notable items.

STEVONNIE: "When the Light Breaks," written by Anthony Oliveira and illustrated by Ver.

Plot: 

Garnet tells a story about the "dangerous side of fusion"--meaning that when you stand for who you are and what you believe in, you become a target, and you must be prepared to deal with that ugly side of it.

Stevonnie, after training, unfuses into Steven and Connie to attend a parade. It appears to be a celebration of love, with many rainbows and confetti. The Gems discuss how they really haven't been too active in these celebrations (though Garnet MAAAY have thrown rocket punches during one in the past because "love is a riot"). Garnet's narration continues to tell us that Homeworld was always against the diversity that Earth celebrates.

Steven and Connie are very excited, but then an attack begins. A monster appears--it’s an attacker that was used by Homeworld to separate Fusions, but it's also corrupted--and it looks like a Gem destabilizer. Garnet's narration encourages those who are attacked for how they love or identify to "learn together, grow together, laugh together, and endure together."

The monster is able to unfuse Garnet, but Steven and Connie quickly fuse into Stevonnie and protect them. They are able to attack the monster and get its Gem. A rainbow appears after the battle clouds clear.

Notable:

1. The narration talk bubbles are so cute--not only color-coded, but identified by the symbols for who's talking. Garnet's are decorated with both her Gemstones at the bottom right corner, while Stevonnie's has a star.

2. "Never forget how much bravery it takes to love each other"--what an incredible quote.

3. Uncle Andy is chilling in Greg's van during the parade. He looks kinda uncomfortable.

4. So many Beach City regulars are visible doing their thing during the parade!

5. Steven sticks his head into Lion's portal and comes out of Lars's head just to share some confetti with them. It's one of those things that's just too convoluted to explain if you don't already know what you're looking at.

6. Interesting that the destabilizer effect seems to just separate the Fusions instead of poofing them the way the modern destabilizer does in “The Return.”

GARNET: "The Gauntlet," written by Jy Yang and illustrated by Doki Rosi.

Plot: 

Steven and Connie are achy after fusion training and complaining about why it's so hard. Garnet--who's baked them cookies--is happy to give her perspective.

The art style melts into a more colorful, whimsical depiction of Garnet's days as a new Fusion, when she was pink and blue and innocent. She loved her early days learning about being a Crystal Gem with Rose and Pearl, but she wasn't given all the time she needed to learn about herself. There was a war going on.

Rose urges Garnet to run and hide, but she feels so weird running away and leaving her friends to fight the battle. Ruby had always been a soldier, after all, and Sapphire's ability lets Garnet predict where her help (and her failure to help) all led to different futures. When she realizes the soldiers are Blue Diamond's, looking for HER, she knows she has to fight.

Garnet unfuses, and when she comes together again, she has her more modern look, with a more consistent color and her visor in place. She confronts the soldiers and identifies herself as a Crystal Gem, standing up for who she is. Back in the present, telling the story, Garnet admits she didn't exactly "kick butt" at first, but she emphasizes that what's important is doing the right thing when it matters.

Notable:

1. Garnet in an apron, baking cookies (which she did in the episode "Warp Tour") is super cute. Her smiley style in this artist's depiction is really interesting!

2. The art style of the flashback is not exactly the same as the show's version of the same thing, but it is absolutely successful at being reminiscent of it. It's so soulful and expressive!

3. In one of Garnet's visions of a battle, we see Pearl fighting a Hessonite. Wow, cool.

4. This comic seems to imply that unfusing and re-fusing can create a new permanent form, and that Garnet got her more recognizable look (including the visor) during this time, but as of this writing we still haven't been told in the show canon when Garnet started wearing her visor and when she stopped looking like cotton candy.

SMOKY QUARTZ: "The Art of Friendship," written by Steve Foxe and illustrated by Xiao Tong Kong.

Plot:

Steven and Amethyst are fighting a pretty stubborn corrupted Gem, and they decide to fuse since Smoky Quartz's yo-yo is perfect for this battle. They have to think fast to stop an innocent bystander from getting injured in the battle, and it turns out to be Amethyst's old pal Vidalia.

Vidalia is immediately enchanted, thinking Smoky is basically just a weird shapeshift of Amethyst's since that's what she's used to, and she invites Smoky to be her model for a painting the way Amethyst used to in the old days. Smoky quickly becomes uncomfortable with Vidalia's reminiscing, because she's treating them like they're just Amethyst, the Gem who has a history with her. Steven doesn't have that history, and neither does Smoky.

Vidalia invites Smoky out for a day of partying "like they used to," and Smoky reluctantly accepts. No matter how many times Smoky reminds Vidalia that those memories belong to her history with Amethyst and Smoky is NOT just a different version of Amethyst, Vidalia keeps using the wrong name, ignoring the commentary, and making assumptions. Finally, in the pizza shop, Smoky unfuses out of frustration that Vidalia doesn't want to hang out with THEM and won't listen. Vidalia finally gets the message and pledges to do better.

Finally, Vidalia has Smoky model for her and this time she treats them like they're really someone she hasn't met before. She listens to Smoky's stories of beating Jasper, hanging out with Sardonyx, and showing Greg yo-yo tricks. They've finally bonded over who Smoky actually is, and Smoky likes Vidalia's portrait of them.

Notable:

1. Smoky's puns. Aiiii. "'Eye' bet you weren't ready for me!" *groan*

2. Fusion is a very specific thing that isn't exactly "like" anything in human life, but the parallels in this comic to misgendering are really interesting. Not only does Smoky exist as "sort of" a version of the person Vidalia knew BUT NOT REALLY--Vidalia also has to dispense with some outdated beliefs and perspectives so she can really know who this person is. It's great.

3. This art style looks really, really cool on Smoky! They're not quite as roly-poly-looking as in the cartoon, but they're consistently bigger than most people and the third arm looks great.

4. When Amethyst and Steven briefly unfuse to show Vidalia that Smoky is a Fusion of two people she knows, the effect is just like it was when Amethyst and Steven unfused for the first time in the Kindergarten during the episode "Earthlings"--Amethyst was glowing and diffuse, but Steven isn't. I love that that detail was mirrored here.

5. Steven is happy to fuse with Amethyst and model for Vidalia, but he's worried he'll have to visit Onion's room again. Yeah, that was traumatic. Heh, great callback.

6. Smoky tells some familiar stories to Vidalia at the end (beating Jasper, interacting with Sardonyx and her room), but then another one that's unfamiliar is added: Greg freaking out at first but enjoying Smoky's yo-yo tricks. Interesting! I'd like to see Greg meet Smoky, though he hasn't gotten to yet in the show. (Smoky also says "our yo-yo tricks," which is interesting since it's not exactly singular speaking, but that's not out of the ordinary for certain Fusions.)

OPAL: "Winging It," written by Nicole Andelfinger and illustrated by Mollie Rose.

Plot:

Pearl and Amethyst are after a flying Centipeetle, and they're having their typical trouble working together to catch it--not to mention Amethyst's saltiness over having to miss Taco Tuesday. Amethyst's noise attracts the attention of bats who are a nuisance that gets in their way of trapping the Centipeetle.

They're not fast enough to catch the Centipeetle by themselves, but then they realize their Fusion, Opal, would be able to move faster and might have the skills to capture it. Pearl and Amethyst fuse.

Opal's superior height, dexterity, and grace make it simple to catch the flying Centipeetle. She does it almost effortlessly, without saying a word.

But then Opal gets curious and opens her hands a little to look at the Centipeetle she caught, and it screeches, disturbing the hordes of bats. They quickly poof the Gem, unfuse, and go on their way--with Amethyst enjoying the idea of getting her tacos after all.

Notable:

1. Amethyst's griping about tacos is adorable. It's so her.

2. Really nice to see Opal. She looks pretty cool in this style.

3. I think it's funny that Opal doesn't speak in the comic. Some people joke that Opal is so rarely on the show because they can't get the guest voice actor back, but I think it's cool that this comic took a cue from what they actually do in the show and have her make a brief, action-packed, silent appearance.

SUGILITE: "An Overdue Conversation," written by Sarah Gailey and illustrated by Maurizia Rubino.

Plot:

A really big corrupted Gem needs to be taken down, and though Steven believes Sugilite is the obvious solution, Pearl has AGGRESSIVE objections to bringing Sugilite back.

Pearl's argument is that Sugilite is uncontrollable and leaves Garnet and Amethyst in bad shape when they unfuse. She doesn't want to even consider using Sugilite for the mission, and suggests Sardonyx instead, but everyone else wants Sugilite. Amethyst points out that Pearl doesn't have much business talking about her nature since she's never been Sugilite.

Steven invites Amethyst and Garnet to tell them about what that feels like for them. Amethyst loves the chance to not be held back by anything, and Garnet finds it a relief to be impulsive instead of thoughtful sometimes, though she has reservations about ignoring her calm side. When Garnet says fusion isn't supposed to feel like that, Amethyst takes ownership of why their Fusion goes wrong, and Garnet assures her it's just as much her responsibility. They decide to try to respect the different parts of themselves and try being Sugilite on the mission.

Sugilite ends up fighting the large corrupted Gem, and enjoys herself immensely. They capture the Gem, but then Pearl is fully ready to have to fight Sugilite to get her to unfuse or not unleash her anger at another target. But instead, Sugilite is happy that they saw her do a good job and peacefully unfuses.

Amethyst and Garnet learned to listen to each other better, and they had a much more satisfying fusion experience--with a promise of next time!

Notable:

1. Most of Pearl's irritation over including Sugilite is, of course, referring to the events of "Coach Steven." Interestingly, Pearl makes no reference to the last time they saw Sugilite, who was the choice Garnet resorted to when Pearl did something horrible in "Cry for Help.”

2. Steven having issues with getting tangled in his sweater and suggesting cocoa was really adorable.

3. Pearl is really being a jerk in this one. I realize she's traumatized by the last time she fought Sugilite and that she has a low opinion of her, and it’s true she has had to clean up their mess before, but Steven's right there listening to her talk crap about someone he loves. She at least could've expressed her reservations without actually telling Steven to get ready for a fight against their own teammate. But that's Pearl for ya.

4. Sugilite being satisfied that Steven saw her kick butt is very her. She was all about showing off for Steven during "Coach Steven," and seemed very disappointed and angry when she found out no one had seen her wrecking the Communication Hub.

REVIEW:

My favorite was the Smoky Quartz comic, which is probably pretty weird for this Garnet nerd, but Garnet’s was my second favorite, and I honestly really did love all of them! The message in the Stevonnie comic was powerful, and I love how even though fusion is a science fiction concept, it allows so many parallels with facilitating lessons about self-love, love that requires bravery, being different, identity acceptance and allyship, teamwork, and various types of intimate relationships (not just romantic love). 

I thoroughly enjoyed this collection--not just because I love seeing these Fusions, but because the writing said something worth hearing. ALL THE STARS!!!

[SU Book and Comic Reviews]

[ty-talks-comics]

Best of DC: Week of July 31st, 2019

Best of this Week: Batman: Last Knight on Earth #2 - Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, FCO Plascencia and Tom Napolitano

The last case Batman will ever solve, might just be his most terrifying.

Beginning with Batman confronting an older Joe Chill in the past over the dead child in Crime Alley that looks eerily similar to Bruce. Our hero kind of surprises and disarms him by removing all of the weapons he’s hidden around his apartment. Chill seems to have been expecting him, preparing what he calls an “end of an era feast” for Bruce, implying he knows his identity. To make matters even more interesting, he insinuates that he didn’t even kill the Waynes for Marth pearls and makes it seem like there was an even larger plan afoot than anyone realized.

Cutting back to the Nightmare future, Batman and Joker’s Head are taken by surprise as a Speed Force Storm tears through the desert. Never let it be said that Greg Capullo hasn’t been improving his skills at body horror because the tornado is terrifying. Consisting of the constantly shifting, twisting and stretched bodies of Barry Allen, Bart Allen, Jay Garrick and possibly others, the faces scream and cry for Bruce to help them. It’s a shocking and unsettling sight as one can almost hear the deafening cries of atom splitting agony that they’re going through. The deep red of the storm doesn’t help as it just makes things FAR more threatening than they need to be. Bruce and Joker sit in a cave for safety while Bruce laments that there is absolutely nothing that he can do to save them.

The pair continue on, hang gliding through the air, crossing over a base named Fort Waller. Joker tells Batman that originally it was the last bastion of hope, where Mr. Terrific, Dr. Sivana, Ivo and others could combine their knowledge with the powers of the new avatars of the Green and Red to repel those incensed by Luthor. Batman asks him what happens and Joker’s narration ends as they watch the battle. Unknown Soldiers fighting abominations of the Red in a hellish battle of blood and fire until a Swamp Thing appears from the crimson dust of their fight, no longer appearing to have any faculties or emotion other than: KILL.

The tone shifts as they reach an area known as the Plains of Solitude, seeming a mass of crystalline structures similar to Superman’s secret base. The cool blues of this area offer something of a safety in a book that has otherwise been overbearingly tense since it began. It doesn’t help that Joker’s been doing variations of “can I be Robin, are we there yet, and knock knock jokes the entire time. Bruce snaps that he could never be Robin because Robin was a good guy and who in this world was still like that? Pods shaped like Superman’s baby rocket start landing close to Bruce and Joker before the pair are saved by… Superman?

Or so we think, this “very talkative” (end sarcasm) Superman leads the pair to a farmhouse in the middle of the plains where a surprisingly alive and potentially insane Lex Luthor greets them. Batman, furious at the state of this world demands to know what happened, what did Luthor do? Luthor answers that he had a debate with Superman. What makes this so interesting is that, Luthor says that he knows that he should have lost. The stakes were such that, the loser would be impaled by spike of Kryptonite and Luthor, having almost crapped himself a speech mostly using platitudes from others in his own words, didn’t hold a candle to Ka-El… but in the end, Superman ends up skewered and the world goes to hell with him.

It begs the question of, what happened? Did all of the people just side with Luthor on impulse? Did something happen to sway them or was someone else manipulating things? Everything is speculation. Things are cut short, however as Bane and Scarecrow show up to punish Luthor and bring Batman to their new God, Omega. Bane appears to be absolutely rotting with venom as his veins are green and his skin is pale. Scarecrow looks absolutely scraggly with long, gnarled fingers with syringes at the end of his fingers. Scarecrow has poisoned the Superman clone and forces him to try and break the Bat.

Suddenly, as Superman lifts Batman above his head, a sword pierces his chest as it’s revealed that Wonder Woman has returned to save the Caped Crusader. The two are told to run away by Luthor, to save the world as he opens a portal for them and is summarily torn apart by other infected Superman Clones. 

We see the full extent of the utter destruction Luthor’s actions have caused as they land on the cloak of The Spectre. Wonder Woman tells Batman that the fighting eventually spilled over and destroyed both Heaven and Hell. It only makes sense, doesn’t it? The forces of magic are very powerful in the DC Universe. How much trouble would it take for a Mordru or Neron to tangle with Doctor Fate or Zatanna, culminating in the ruination of the afterlife, damning everyone to a non-existence at the end of everything?

They enter the cloak and take a ride down the River Styx. Diana tells Bruce that the voices of the dead will be calling out to him for sending them there. Capullo stuns with a double page spread of many of DCs biggest heroes, showing Batman the sheer weight of what his as-of-yet unknown role in Luthor’s scheme was. There are far too many to name, but I will say that I appreciate Capullo putting Kyle Rayner among those in the front. His deaths in many alt-stories will always irk me, but I do like seeing him recognized and put higher than Hal Jordan or even John Stewart.

Things take an even darker turn as Alfred shows up among the dead and Batman almost climbs out of the little boat, knowing that he just saw Alfred not too long ago and he and Wonder Woman make it to the real Gotham City with a cliffhanger and a surprising reveal at the end.

Last Knight on Earth pulls no punches when it comes to depicting a desolate world where Doom wins. I want to say that it’s almost dour to the point of being almost being hopeless and that’s exactly what I love. I adore how much is being packed into this story, how many references to the greater DC universe we’re getting. Capullo’s art is probably the best it has been in years and the quality of the writing is right on part with Dark Knights: Metal. It’s a righteous trip as Batman lugs the annoying head of the Joker around like a planet hopping adventure. It’s really fun and very dark.

---------------------------------------------------

The world needs more Swamp Thing stories.

Runner Up: Justice League Dark Annual #1 - James Tynion IV, Ram V, Guillem March, Arif Prianto and Rob Leigh

This annual was dark, far darker than most of the Justice League Dark tales so far because of how self contained it was and the sheer weight of the situation therein. Sure, it wasn't a world ending cataclysm like the one they just stopped, but that doesn't make it any less horrible. I'd never heard of Ram V before, but their storytelling, combined with Guillem March's art makes me feel like I've been pulled back into the old days of Vertigo.

Magic is broken. After Wonder Woman and Zatanna used the Ruby of Life to repair the damage they did to magic after defeating the Lords of Order, magic itself is repairing itself, but in a manner that throws the old rules out of the window.

Consequently, the Parliament of Trees has been destroyed and now Swamp Thing has no one to answer to as the new Parliament of Flowers is seeking a new champion. After confronting Constantine about coming on as a consultant for the League, the con-man convinces Swamp Thing to go on the search for the new Avatar before he loses his humanity like Swampy did. Swamp thing tries to act like he doesn't care, but goes off to find the man.

The story descends into something of a tragedy as we're introduced to Oleander Sorrel, a flower botanist, and his wife Natasha. 

What makes this story so great is that, like the best Swamp Thing stories, it focuses on other characters and their own personal situations. The pair suffer in a broken marriage after the death of their son which causes Natasha to leave Oleander and himself delving deeper into his work, later resulting in his death. He becomes the Avatar of Flowers, but refuses to let go of his humanity after Swamp Thing tries to convince him that he is no longer a man.

He seeks out his wife and watches over her until Jason Woodrue, a very old DC villain that really hasn't been seen since the early days of The New 52, whispers in Oleanders ear. Oleander listens and suddenly a boy that looks very close to their son appears at the door. Natasha is happy, then another child appears and another until Natasha is absolutely blind with love for her new kids.

But not all gifts are good. There's no way that Woodrue doesn't get something out of this himself. There's always an underlying plot and Swamp Thing manages to uncover what really happened to Oleander. The fire that killed him was actually a pool of caustic that he laid in his flower bed and kills himself in. Oleander did die in the pool, but his memory lived on in the flowers that he planted. This revelation stuns Oleander and the children he created out of flowers begin to dissipate. He grows weary, knowing that Swamp Thing was right and Woodrue manages to convince him to rest for a while before feasting upon his flower flesh, regaining his own connection to The Green.

This annual definitely fit the title. It was Dark, not only from a storytelling standpoint, but also visually. Natasha’s post crying face was heart wrenching to see and Gullem March squeezed every bit of emotion out of it that he could. Her lips quivered, her eye makeup ran just a bit and there was a hopelessness that could be felt. Oleander’s transformation was a beautiful kind of macabre with his appearance, composed entirely of flowers, looking very sinewy and skeletal at the same time. Colors are very warm, juxtaposed against an ever growing sense of dread that culminated in the most haunting scene of Oleander growing more and more flower children. The shot is perfect as Oleander is shown to be a hapless man whose only intent is to make his wife happy, but his methods are horrifying almost wrong.

When the children begin to disappear following the revelation, light is shown on them while the background remains dark. Their petals waft away with the night winds as Natasha has to watch in horror, likely to be absolutely broken by the experience of losing her kids. Woodrue eating Oleander afterwards, however, is brutal. The color shifts to a deep red and Woodrue furiously munches on the flowers, gnawing and tearing his way into Oleander’s body and emerging as a new creature unto himself.

I haven’t been able to find anything about this Ram V person, but I want to read more of their work. This book was absolutely stunning and I hope that it does well enough to warrant another Swamp Thing mini-series or full run. Amidst the cancellation of the show after just one season, it’s definitely something the world needs more of. This story was chilling, well paced and had a great focus on someone else while keeping it’s main star tangential as he should be in things like these. This is a definite high recommend from me.

[sharethisgemwithme]

“Raising the Barn” instant reaction

So now's when we pull Peridot and Lapis into the conversation? [scrolls down to synopsis] "Pumpkin goes missing!" [aquamarine face] I know from one of the convention trailers that Lion also goes missing at some point (and we haven't seen him since Connie rode him into the portal), but it's really weird to do a missing "persons" storyline SO IMMEDIATELY after we just did a missing persons storyline.

My predictions: I think this is when we're going to get the La-pissed off phone call from the promo, but I wonder what Steven will say or do to set her off. Don't have a coherent guess, so I'm just gonna play the episode.

I'm watching via on-demand, and will start the clock with "We!" As always, first time I'm watching straight through with no pauses or rewinds.

Note: I watched the whole set over the course of the day on Sunday, but decided to space out my reaction posts. These are authentic in that I haven’t gone back and changed earlier reactions after watching later episodes. Also, for the benefit of those on mobile who can’t blacklist, the rest of this post is behind a cut.

0:00 - Who's it gonna be this episode? 0:20 - Amber debuts! With Hilary. 0:28 - More sad looks at Connie's picture. Which is now in color. 0:42 - song time song time 0:50 - SONG TIME 0:58 - and cut off 1:06 - here's the call from the barn. IT'S NOT CONNIE, STEVEN! 1:25 - pumpkin is still weird 1:38 - aww lapis is blushing 1:51 - spaaaace. i wonder how much they already know 2:04 - oh yeah. that'll set her off. 2:19 - and BYE 2:42 - you can.. yeah you can bring the TV 2:50 - lapis is D O N E 3:04 - you keep saying that "we're safe" thing 3:22 - peridot, it's time to make a decision. lapis has made hers 3:45 - peri is not planning to leave. lapis is gonna leave without you. 4:18 - uhh... what are you doing there, lapis? 4:30 - yikes. 4:35 - oh. so that's what you mean by "raising the barn". literally. why didn't I expect that? 4:54 - lapis's goodbyes are never permanent. 5:08 - seriously, where did she go? 5:23 - or did peridot hide her to try to delay lapis's departure? 5:50 - yeah, the cluster. that's still a thing. 6:04 - a basketball is good enough 6:20 - "we'll never know" YAY [/sarcasm] 6:33 - "she loves this", we don't need to know about your, uh, habits 6:56 - hahahha 7:02 - "onion's onions" 7:20 - ok, so peridot didn't hide her, she hid herself? 8:10 - you do have a choice. if anyone knows about having a choice, it's you, peridot. 8:30 - bye. again. once more. 8:45 - peridot, claim it for yourself. 9:07 - yay, standing up for earth! 9:20 - honestly, there was no good time to tell you 9:48 - "I think we can win. I think you can win." 9:58 - "No." 10:03 - Oh good, shaded eyes Lapis. 10:12 - Uhh... 10:25 - Bye. Again. 10:45 - Aww, Peridot's moving back into the bahtroom. 10:58 - That's the saddest wow thanks ever. 11:07 - And still no Connie. 11:12 - "What do we do now?" is basically a shoe-in as always the saddest possible last line of a TV episode.

IMMEDIATE THOUGHTS: She'll be back. She always is. This time, not for Earth, and not for Steven, but for Peridot. I don't know how or when, but Peridot is going to get through to Lapis and get her to come back. On another point, it is now officially time to start worrying about Connie. Has Steven tried calling her parents just to make sure she is OK? Did Lion ever come back? Peridot was definitely trying everything she could think of to get Lapis to stay or at least think about it, but it seems even if she had started out with "I'm not going", that wouldn't have been enough to convince her. We've now seen Steven interact with several different groups in the direct aftermath of the Aquamarine kidnappings: the townies, his family, and the adopted Homeworld gems. I don't know if there's plot space for another group, or whether we'll now have gems and Peridot playing off each other. In any event, I don't think we're going to see the Diamonds (or their representatives) attack by the end of this block. One way or another, Connie is coming back into the picture soon, and I expect fireworks. The TV show I most closely associate with the phrase "What do we do now?" is Sliders. After being screwed by multiple networks in a way that might even make an SU fan say "Wow, that's terrible", the show ended on a cliffhanger with one character traveling alone back to what he hoped would be his home planet. He and his fellow travelers had been warned by a fortune-teller that if they went, they would die. After the one guy goes by himself, everyone else stands around for a few seconds. The fortune-teller dies. One character asks "So... what do we do now?" Another says "I don't know." And the show ended forever. Thankfully we don't have to worry about that. (yet)

Second watch notes:

Steven. Buddy. I know you're sad, but dragging your ukulele through the sand cannot be good for its sound. Also, I wonder where he was gonna go with that song. I read/heard some speculation about the meaning of "I wish I could tell you..." but none of it landed on "She's just not answering the damn phone."

Happy Lappy is always great, but blushing Lapis is also cute. It's a shame that it didn't last.

Lapis knew that Steven had been to Homeworld and back, but it wasn't until he mentioned that he'd specifically met with the Diamonds, and specifically BLUE Diamond, that she went full-speed "fuck this shit i'm out"

Peridot's desperate bargaining might have worked if not for Lapis's "FINE WE'RE BRINGING F*CKING EVERYTHING" attitude (and the ability to do it).

Reminder to all: Lapis does not give two tenths of a shit for the Crystal Gems as a whole. She was ready to leave with just Peridot, and considered it a bonus when Steven showed up (presuming he'd come with), but she would not exert any effort to save Garnet, Pearl, or Amethyst (no matter how much fun it was to act like her).

I wish Peridot had reacted, even just flinched, to Lapis saying "This is different. Steven is important."

"They would upset you, so in general, I don't say those things." "Peridot, that's lying!" Useful relationship advice. Supporting your partner's well-being is one thing, but continually suppressing your own self to do so doesn't help either of you.

Steven is me any time two of my friends are arguing. It's awkward as hell, and I just want to be not there.

I haven't had the opportunity to point out the soundtrack for these episodes, but right as we see Lapis' shaded eyes, we hear one of the most iconic leitmotifs in all of the show: four ascending notes, then four descending notes, hearkening all the way back to "Mirror Gem". To Lapis's tortured past. It's unmistakable, it's one of my favorite instrumental pieces.

Lapis looking back and then moving on has nearly brought me to tears each time I've watched it so far. When she said back in "Same Old World" that that's just how it is with her, she wasn't wrong.

Christ almighty, this is a depressing ending. Just a brutal gutpunch.

[elizas-writing]

Steven Universe, Wanted: Eh...?

Just a few weeks after the last Steven Bomb, we have a one hour special called Wanted with Steven and Lars’s journey to Homeworld and hopefully finding some way to escape the wrath of the Diamond Authority. And...

Okay that’s just a short and sweet version. I wasn’t as pissed off or annoyed as I was with the last Steven Bomb, but I still got so many more questions than answers (as it seems to be a trend with Steven Universe as of late), which I don’t think is a good thing. And I’m sure by the time I finish writing this, I will be way more bitter than I originally was.

So just like last time, I’ll go through each episode one by one. Spoilers and possible swearing and ranting ahead. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Stuck Together

(I know this episode was leaked early and most everyone saw it before Memorial Day, but work with me here)

So Topaz actually turned out to be a surprisingly likable and sweet character, and she has wonderful voice work (hooray for soft butches). It’s great insight into how Homeworld treats fusions, and they tend to become emotional but have to suppress those emotions as they are not allowed to let feelings get in the way of their missions. That would be an awesome story arc to take! It would be the first Homeworld fusion we’d see that is both healthy and not solely used for fighting.

And finally, finally at the fifth season do they give Lars an attitude adjustment, and he's willing to go along with Steven to try to escape. While we still have to deal with Aquamarine being annoying (even though Topaz could easily poof her and turn the ship around), there is a good amount of suspense building up for next episodes.

My only problem? This is the last time we see Topaz and Aquamarine. Fucking really. Weeks of build up to these characters and what seems to be a promise for a fun story arc with Topaz, and we don’t see them again during this special. And given the show’s track record with which characters it chooses to focus on, there’s a likelihood we won’t see them again, at least not for a long time. With this shit again folks? And it’s only the beginning..

The Trial

(Warning: This part is gonna be a long one...)

Again, we have more awkward character designs with a lot going on at once to the point where it doesn’t look like it belongs int he show (and for some reasons they can’t decide how to shade Blue Diamond’s face right). Though to be fair, the Zircons are pretty enjoyable lawyers, and Blue Zircon gets a rocking scene on her analysis on Pink Diamond’s shattering. Much like Topaz, I can look past the weird designs and surprisingly still enjoy the character when they’re well-written and given good lines.

Unfortunately, we still have to sit through Steven asserting that he is Rose Quartz and tries to rationalize why he should take responsibility and assume guilt despite having none of Rose’s memories and still hasn’t figured out that Rose KILLED A DICTATOR SO THAT THE CRYSTAL GEMS COULD BE FREE TO BE THEMSELVES AND HE COULD HAVE A LIFE.

Thanks to Blue Zircon’s analysis, there is now question as to if Rose really did shatter Pink Diamond or if someone else, particularly one of the other Diamonds, did it and framed Rose. If it turned out she in fact didn’t do it, this would be such a let down and throw out any complex moral ambiguity the show would have explored. Like I said, more questions than answers on top of a bunch of plot inconsistencies which I can’t even tell if they were intentional or not. Of the major inconsistencies noticed by SU Critical, the two big ones that popped up are witnesses claiming Rose shattered Pink Diamond with her sword and Blue Zircon wondering where was Pink’s entourage when she was shattered.

Going back to season 3, we know Bismuth created Rose’s sword. It was designed for a fair fight and could only destroy a gem’s physical form, not the gem itself (hence the creation of the Breaking Point). Without any knowledge of the truth, Steven makes up a story that he used the Breaking Point to shatter Pink Diamond, to which Blue Diamond gets frustrated and breaks down.

But as far as we know, the Breaking Point never saw the light of day during the war. How could anyone have any idea what he was talking about? What was used to shatter Pink Diamond? And if another Diamond did it instead of Rose, how did they manipulate eye-witness accounts? In fact, didn’t Eyeball Ruby say that she was there when Pink was shattered? Why didn’t they ask her about that instead of when she and Steven were floating in space? What was the whole point of Jasper going after Steven if it turns out Rose never shattered Pink in the first place? Why did the Crystal Gems say that Rose indeed shattered Pink Diamond??

And then there’s the fact that they knew for years Rose Quartz was a threat to the point that no Rose Quartzes were a part of Pink Diamond’s court. Was this when all the Rose Quartzes were bubbled or did that come after Pink was shattered? Do we have a clear cut timeline at all with the events of the Gem War?

I wouldn’t be bothered by this if they didn’t spend a whole season building up to this moment. Now there are even more questions than answers and I can’t tell what’s intentional or not because there’s so much confusing information piling on top of each other. And honestly, I would have been fine just leaving it that Rose shattered Pink Diamond, no questions asked; is it wrong to have character with moral ambiguity? I guess so, given that they can’t seem to write it correctly.

There are a few theories out now about who really shattered Pink (most of them leaning towards Yellow Diamond), but I still want to believe Rose was the one who did it. My personal theory I’ve held since the reveal at the end of season 3 was that it worked out more like how Snape killed Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series or the ending of Code Geass R2. It was all planned between Rose and Pink for the greater good. Maybe Pink started coming around and seeing the consequences to her actions, and this was her way to make amends and bring the war to an end by destroying a terrible leader. It’d be great insight of Rose’s relationship to Pink (if any at all) and would explain why none of Pink’s entourage saw Rose coming before shattering her. I think it’s a cool theory, and it would totally work out in achieving moral ambiguity.

Anyway, much like the previous episode, this is the last of the special that we see of the Diamonds and the Zircons (who are poofed, and God knows what will happen to them with Yellow’s rage) and NONE of this is brought up again. Yeah, Steven spends a season with conflicted emotions about his mother and finds out there’s a likelihood she didn’t even shatter Pink Diamond? Never brought up again.

Off Color

More new gems and honestly, I love every single one of them. And I live for that shot where the camera just pans down and we see the massive amounts of empty holes from Kindergartens. If that doesn’t speak to Homeworld’s wastefulness and why they go to other planets to colonize, I don’t know what does.

This was a good episode for world building and how gems are held to ridiculously high standards of perfection. The Twins of Rutile are my favorite of these gems, especially in their design, and I like how you can’t tell if they’re technically a fusion or not. Fluorite takes the cake for the most out there fusion in the show, but in a good way and I like the idea of an elderly gem. I still want to learn more about Rhodonite since we all know she’s a fusion of a Ruby and a Pearl, and her paranoia is elevated by a factor of a million. And Padparadscha is so damn sweet, and some of the theories behind her potential for the show would be awesome to see.

And then we get to the end where they fight off Robonoids and Lars... dies...

What?

But since we already saw all the titles of the episodes beforehand, that’s when this happens...

Lars’ Head

Steven suddenly has healing tears, and they can bring back the dead and turn someone’s hair into a portal to another dimension like Lion. In fact, the two dimensions are connected, allowing easy travel between Earth and Homeworld.

I wish I was making this up, and I’m struggling to find out what to pick apart first.

Okay, one, healing does not mean “bring back the dead.” Big difference. And how does Steven suddenly have healing powers in his tears? I know sometimes his powers come and go since he’s half-human but there’s literally no explanation as to why now. It’s also come to the realization that Steven is so ultra-powerful that we’re starting to wonder why there is even any conflict in the show. Why do none of the other gems seem to be this powerful? And now we just have a straight up portal between Earth and Homeworld that the series could probably end in a few episodes and that would be it (but knowing the crew, they’ll probably find a way to drag it out with as much filler as possible).

It’s just a deus ex machina for a cop-out character death (which I guarantee none of us felt any emotional impact since we figured he’d be fine anyway) and a reason to just get Steven home as fast as possible. And wow, way to just throw in the mystery behind lion without a lot of time and effort. So it turns out he’s a dead lion brought back to life by Rose, and no explanation of the dimension inside his mane. Cool. And it turns out Lars doesn’t need to eat so he can just sit by on Homeworld with the Off Colors and wait to be rescued soon (maybe). And Steven gets his happy reunion with his friends and family.

In all respects, I can see what they’re trying to go for, and I think it’s safe to say the ending is definitely coming sooner than later. I loved these new characters, The Trial was a pretty engaging episode, and I liked seeing a glimpse of Homeworld. But whereas season 4 had way too much filler, these first four episodes of season 5 had way too much plot and worldbuilding at once to let viewers just digest and breathe. Not to mention bringing up major questions, answers and potential plot threads and not continuing them in a consistent manner. Is it too much to want a steadily flowing narrative?

And the sudden end really doesn’t do the show well when we have no idea when new episodes are going to premiere. Will it be weeks? Months? How long do I have to hold patience until then? Again, I’m a sad sack who keeps giving the benefit of the doubt for this show, but I really don’t know how long I’ll be stuck to this show, especially if they start going back to filler episodes again.

All we can do is hope for the best and a turn around, but I’m not counting my chickens before they hatch. God speed everyone.

[fashiontrendin-blog]

Iconic Black Sitcoms of the 90s: A Visual Homage to Their Style and Influence

http://fashion-trendin.com/iconic-black-sitcoms-of-the-90s-a-visual-homage-to-their-style-and-influence/

Iconic Black Sitcoms of the 90s: A Visual Homage to Their Style and Influence

Learning about my Blackness began at home — in my living room, seated in front of the television. During primetime, I’d sit with my dad and watch UPN, or as my dad called it, “You People’s Network,” where I’d fall in love with the characters on Eve, Moesha, The Parkers and Girlfriends. Growing up in an urban-suburb, I’d always daydreamed about life in the big city, and watching the characters on these shows transported me there for a few hours each night.

Left to right:Whitley: Alessandra Rich suit, Off-White x Jimmy Choo shoes, DMI via Amazon Fashion earringsDwayne: BLK MKT vintage top, Maryam Nassir Zadeh pants, Converse x J.W. Anderson shoes, Oliver Peoples sunglassesDenise: Stella McCartney top and bottoms, vintage Chanel belt bag via What Goes Around Comes Around, L’Enchanteur earrings, Chanel shoesJaleesa: Go All Out Screenprinting sweatshirt via Amazon Fashion, Christian Louboutin shoes, Jennifer Fisher earringsFreddie: Gucci cardigan, polo, skirt, shoes and socks

The television of this time — the 1990s and early 2000s — was ripe with Black lives and localities. Shows like A Different World, Girlfriends, Martin, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Sister, Sister had complex characters who each presented their own universes. Anyone who tuned into these shows could be exposed to the many different ways of being Black. In one evening, viewers could travel from Detroit to Bel-Air with the click of a remote control, which was critical in the years following the L.A. riots and the media blitz of the O.J. Simpson trial. In sitcoms, unlike in the news, we could see the power and diversity of the Black family unit and see that Black success was possible.

Thirty-seven-year-old Insecure Director Melina Matsoukas came of age during the height of the Black primetime sitcom. Over the course of an hour-long call for this story, we spoke about the shows that impacted us as women of color, and for Matsoukas, how these shows influence her work today in modern television and entertainment. “Having black casts and having black stories [is] a way to educate and bring about understanding, hopefully to begin to end the ignorance that infiltrates this country so deeply.”

One way Matsoukas paints these stories is through style. She notes that “fashion is really another character.” For Matsoukas, clothes play a pivotal role in moving along a plot and exposing a narrative. Clothes can tell the audience a great deal about who the characters are, where they’re from, or where they’re headed. We also discuss how fashion challenges viewers to understand that Blackness is not monolithic. In the Black sitcom specifically, styling, location and music all played a vital role in casting a positive light on Black life.

In one of my favorite episodes of 90s sitcom Martin, the character Sheneneh and her friend Laquita compete with Gina and Pam for inclusion in a Detroit social club. Pam and Gina step outside their usual wardrobe realm of trendy 1990s silhouettes in an attempt to dress like the elder members of Detroit’s social elite (think coral and pearls). They go shopping and play dress-up while trying to find outfits that make them look more affluent. When Pam and Gina arrive at the club in their muted outfits, Gina squeals in excitement and Pam reminds her that “this is where we belong.”

Much to their surprise, Sheneneh and her friend Laquita arrive dressed in an amplified version of their standard “ghetto fabulous” attire: Sheneneh wears a leather motorcycle jacket, sneakers and a plaid skirt, while Laquita looks like she’s just stepped out of Lil’ Kim’s 1996 “Crush on You” music video. In the end, Sheneneh’s authenticity and charisma show Pam and Gina that they don’t have to change who they are to fit into the club. By juxtaposing Pam and Gina’s more toned-down looks with Sheneneh and Laquita’s homage to hip hop royalty, the styling of the episode articulated class difference, generational divides and taught the viewers a great deal more about the women portrayed on screen than the script alone.

When stylist Shiona Turini pitched a fashion-centric celebration of iconic black 90s sitcoms — the work of which you see throughout this piece — I began to think differently about fictional wardrobes of characters like Sheneneh, for whom style was everything. These clothes weren’t just clothes; they were portals. For Shiona, these shows, with their casts and their clothes, were also gateways into how she viewed the world. “As a young girl in Bermuda, I was culturally nurtured off of them,” she told me. “I dreamed of a life outside of my tiny island that could be even a fraction as fabulous as the lives I saw on Fresh Prince, Girlfriends or A Different World.” And now, as a grown woman? “They serve as foundational references for my everyday.”

Left to right:Hillary: Alessandra Rich dress, Off-White x Jimmy Choo shoes, Lele Sadoughi earringsWill: models own wardrobe Jazz: Valentino track suit and shoes, Fallon necklace, Andy Wolf sunglasses, Dior ringCarlton: Valentino shirt, Coach sweater, Miaou pants, Christian Louboutin shoesAshley: Chanel top and skirt, Dior bag, SJP shoes

In revisiting my nostalgia for these shows, I was also reminded of the stumbles some of their legacies have taken. I was reminded, for instance, that Tisha Campbell-Martin (who played Gina on Martin) sued — and won — a sexual harassment case against her co-star Martin Lawrence. The two appear to have since made amends, and Campbell-Martin has even signed on for a reboot. That this happened, however, is now embedded within my fond memories of the show.

Let’s also not forget the elephant in the room: Do you know how hard it is to talk about television in the 1990s and not talk about The Cosby Show? In my chat with Melina Matsoukas, we found ourselves fumbling over how to articulate our fondness for A Different World, a collegiate-centered spinoff of The Cosby Show, as well as the excellence of Debbie Allen (who directed both) without mentioning the nuclear connection between the two.

In all honesty, you’d have a hard time finding a young Black person who had access to a television who wasn’t in some way influenced by The Cosby Show, but we can’t totally separate the goodness of the show without dealing with some of the concrete realities of Bill Cosby’s legacy. I know I haven’t been able to parse this out yet. In Cosby’s case, as with Martin Lawrence’s — as with any of the men in entertainment who’ve been accused of sexual harassment and/or abuse — celebrating the positive impacts of their associated shows, casts, crew, fashion (the works) means reconciling with that fact these men have cast shadows across otherwise historically celebrated moments in television.

But wait: are they unilaterally celebrated? When I spoke with Mara Brock Akil, the writer and producer who is known for Girlfriends and most recently, BET’S scripted drama Being Mary Jane, she reflected back on the 90s and said, “It was a time in which corporate America decided to monetize our culture. It [happened] rapidly and wildly in the areas of music, fashion, and television.” She explained that networks were so pressed to squeeze together these three areas that, “in some cases, you couldn’t get a show green-lit without a black musician [acting in it].” This conversation with Akil challenged me to evacuate the comfort of nostalgia and get real.

As my chat with Mara Brock Akil shifted from phone call to text messages, she said she didn’t get a chance to talk about “any of the fun stuff.” Over text, she explained how, on Girlfriends, the characters Maya and Toni “contributed to the acceptance and celebration of weaves” and how Lynn “gave permission for black women to not have it all together but still [be] intelligent and deserving of love.” She ended our exchange by bringing it back to the transformative power of fashion: “Tracee Ellis Ross influenced a lot of Joan’s style, but it took fighting for a black woman costume designer to allow these characters to take flight.” With each layer of new information, I grew more thankful for the shows of this era, complexities and all.

Freddie from A Different World

One of the great powers of Girlfriends, Martin, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, A Different World, and Sister, Sister was that they granted Black people the chance to defy how we traditionally understood love and self-determination, too. The shows, casting, storytelling and scoring, gave us a chance to walk in pride as we shattered the limitations of stereotypes. Likewise, the fashion that brought these characters to life presented a multitude of Black identities that had not been previously showcased in mass media. And beyond fashion, as Mara Brock Akil shared, “[Black sitcoms] gave an entry point for the artists of the day… [T]he artists [who] were growing up… are better storytellers as a result.”

For a generation of creatives, these entry points granted us permission to see sisterhood, find humor, and learn that while there certainly might be complexities and adversity, there weren’t any realities too harsh to unfold with the power of courageous storytelling. These shows taught us how to style ourselves, tell our own stories, and be heard — whether on or off TV.

Kimberly Drew is the Social Media Manager for The Metropolitan Museum of Art, creator of the Tumblr “Black Contemporary Art,” and the person behind @museummammy on Instagram.

Creative Director and Stylist: Shiona Turini, Co-Stylist: Nicole Chapoteau, Photographer: Naima Green, Stylist Assistants: Mayer Campbell, Melanie Wainwright and Annisah Medinah, Hair: Yusef at Factory Downtown, Michael Warren and Kendall Dorsey, Makeup: Bob Scott for Dior Makeup at The Wall Group and Frank Lombardi, Manicure: Gracie J at Editorial Nail, Prop Stylist: Jannah Handy and Kiyanna Stewart of BLK MKT Vintage, Models: Afiya Bennett, Michelle Bessiake, Sable Boykin, Sasha Boykin, Mayer Campbell, Kendall Dorsey, Marybeth Dupain, Tirzah Evora, Samia Hampstead and Justin Segar